President Donald Trump announced he had called off planned strikes against Iran and said a peace deal is close, issuing the statement on Truth Social and repeating the claim in the Oval Office. On the social platform he wrote that “discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved,” and that he had “cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening.” He added that the U.S. naval blockade will remain “in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized,” and that the time and place of a signing would be announced shortly.
In the Oval Office, Trump said the deal should be finished within days and suggested the signing might take place in Europe. When asked whether nuclear issues had been resolved, he replied they had been addressed “conceptually.”
Those conciliatory statements followed public threats earlier the same day. In a separate post the president said the U.S. would attack Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and later told Fox News he planned to seize critical oil infrastructure, including Kharg Island — a strategic Iranian oil site that U.S. planners long have viewed as a high-value but high-casualty target. He said he preferred taking Kharg Island but questioned whether America “has the stomach.”
The oscillation between threats and a promised agreement highlights the unpredictable posture of the administration as domestic pressures build: inflation has risen and presidential approval remains low. Experts say the rhetoric appears intended to project control and reassure the public, even as many factors remain beyond the president’s direct control. Jennifer Stromer-Galley, a professor of information studies at Syracuse University, said Trump is trying to “manufacture a reality” that aligns with his goals, but that audience confidence is eroding after repeated, conflicting messages.
On the ground, the conflict has heavily disrupted regional shipping. After more than three months of fighting, Iran has effectively shut down passages in the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow waterway through which roughly 20% of the world’s energy supply moves. A fragile ceasefire has existed since April, yet both sides have continued striking each other’s targets as negotiations and threats have continued to trade places.