Trump
climbs down on Iran strikes after Saudi alarm and threats from Tehran
President
claims delay is ‘subject to being able to rapidly make a deal’ as intervention
by Saudi crown prince is revealed and Iran warns neighbours
Guardian
staff and agencies
Sun 2 Aug
2026 05.45 BST
Donald
Trump said on Saturday night that the US would hold off on any new strikes on
Iran provided a deal to end the months-long conflict is quickly reached –
marking the president’s latest climbdown from extravagant threats to hit the
Tehran regime hard.
The Saudi
crown prince Mohammed bin Salman called Trump on Saturday to express concerns
about his strike plans, it was reported. Trump’s reversal also came after Iran
threatened to retaliate decisively against its neighbours in the event of US
strikes, while Kuwait reported being hit by Iranian drones on Saturday and two
ships were attacked off Oman in the strait of Hormuz.
One
source described as having knowledge of the Trump-Mohammed call told Axios that
the Saudi crown prince had “urged Trump to de-escalate and refrain from
launching the strikes”.
The
Associated Press also reported the conversation, citing its own source. It said
the Saudis were concerned that if the US targets Iran’s energy infrastructure
or carries out massive strikes on other key infrastructure, Tehran could
respond by carrying out similar attacks on the kingdom and other Gulf
countries.
The crown
prince during Saturday’s call sought clarity from Trump on what potential new
action he was weighing to take against Iran, the Associated Press reported.
A White
House official, who was not authorised to comment publicly and requested
anonymity, confirmed to the Associated Press that Trump and Prince Mohammed
spoke on Saturday but did not offer any detail about the substance of their
conversation.
Saudi
Arabia earlier this week joined the US in striking logistics and weapons sites
used by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq, but has been urging the US and Iran to
get back to the negotiating table.
CBS News
reported that the US and Israel were planning joint strikes, possibly
throughout the weekend, with oil refineries and power plants among possible
targets.
Iran
warned this weekend against any “adventurous action” by the US and said it would retaliate decisively. Tehran foreign minister
Abbas Araqchi’s
comments in separate phone calls on Saturday with senior Turkish, Pakistani and
Saudi officials came just hours after Kuwait’s army said it destroyed hostile drones launched by Iran against several vital
facilities.
A
government facility in northern Kuwait and civilian property belonging to a
company on Bubiyan Island were hit, with falling shrapnel causing material damage but
no casualties, the Kuwaiti army said.
The
United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said on Saturday it had received
reports of two maritime incidents off Oman, including one in which a tanker was
struck by an unknown projectile that damaged the engine room. In the other
incident, the master of a tanker reported seeing a large splash and an
explosion close to the vessel, though no damage was reported.
Iran’s
Araqchi told regional counterparts that any attacks by the US and Israel or participation by regional
countries in such actions would be met with a “proportionate response”. Nournews, a media outlet affiliated with Iran’s top security body, said on Saturday
that US attacks on Iranian energy infrastructure would prompt Iranian strikes
on oilfields in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, as well as the
gasfields of Qatar and Israel.
The
developments appeared to have given Trump pause for thought, as he posted on
Saturday night in characteristically grandiose language that “the USA is locked
and loaded” to strike Iran with “military terror, strength, and power not seen
since World War II”.
“Despite
this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern countries, to
hold off any attack,” he continued, adding that he would delay strikes “subject
to being able to rapidly make a deal”. It would have to include “immediate,
complete and total opening of the Hormuz strait, and an end to Iran’s nuclear
threat”.
Trump
claimed that “the country of Israel joins me in this commitment”. However the
government of Benjamin Netanyahu has previously disowned supposed agreements
that were announced by the US president, such as the failed “memorandum of
understanding”, and has been at odds with the Trump administration over how to
proceed against Iran as well as its proxy Hezbollah operating from Lebanon.
With
Reuters, Agence France-Presse and Associated Press
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