President Donald Trump said on Saturday (August 1, 2026) that the United States and Israel had agreed to hold off on any new strikes on Iran, provided a deal to end the months-long conflict is quickly reached.

Fears had mounted that the fighting could escalate once again, after Mr. Trump threatened to hit Iran “very hard,” and was reportedly considering renewed heavy attacks, including against energy infrastructure targets.

CBS News reported that the United States and Israel were planning joint strikes, possibly throughout the weekend, with oil refineries and power plants among possible targets.

“The USA is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II,” Mr. Trump said late on Saturday (August 1) in a post on his Truth Social platform.

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But the Republican billionaire said he would hold fire for now.

“Despite this, we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack,” he said.

“Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL,” he said.

The U.S. President said the deal would have to include the “Immediate, Complete and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat.”

“The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment. Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE.”

After more than five months of war, which began on February 28 when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran, there is seemingly no end to the conflict, with a resumption of tit-for-tat attacks in recent weeks.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman called Trump on Saturday (August 1) to express concerns about his strike plans, Axios reported, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

One source with knowledge of the call told Axios that the Saudi crown prince had “urged Trump to de-escalate and refrain from launching the strikes.”

The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment about the report.

A series of mysterious, unclaimed air strikes that hit Iran after the U.S. said it finished its attacks have again raised questions of who else may be targeting the Islamic Republic.

The strikes on Thursday (July 9, 2026), just as Iran prepared to bury the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, hit areas across southern Iran. The country’s theocracy hasn’t directly blamed anyone for the strikes, though one lawmaker issued a warning to the United Arab Emirates over allegedly providing support to the United States in its campaign against Iran.

Gulf Arab states, which repeatedly have been targeted by Iran since the war began February 28, did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Friday over the strikes. The attacks come as they and the U.S. insist the Strait of Hormuz must be open and free to ships to transit.

Israel, which under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has engaged in an intense campaign against Iran, has not attacked the Islamic Republic since June. Israel also broadly immediately claims its attacks on Iran.

On Friday (July 10), Iranian state media quoted Esmail Kousari, a former commander in IRGC, as warning the UAE would “pay the price for its cooperation with the United States”.

The British military said on Saturday (April 18, 2026) that two gunboats from Iran’s Revolutionary Guard opened fire on a tanker transiting the Strait of Hormuz, after Iran said it has reimposed restrictions on the vital waterway.

The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations center said the tanker and crew were reported safe, without identifying the vessel or its destination.

Iran’s Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani responded to U.S. President Trump’s threat of hitting Iran “20 times harder” if the flow of oil through the Strait of Hormuz is stopped, saying the chokepoint could be a “Strait of defeat” for the U.S.

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“Strait of Hormuz will either be a Strait of peace and prosperity for all or will be a Strait of defeat and suffering for warmongers.” Mr. Larijani posted in social media in English, Arabic, Persian, Mandarin, Russian and French.

He had earlier reposted Mr. Trump’s post, saying “the Iranian people do not fear your hollow threats; for those greater than you have failed to erase it… So beware lest you be the ones to vanish.”

Earlier in the day, Mr. Trump threatened Iran with “death, fire and fury”.

“If Iran does anything that stops the flow of Oil within the Strait of Hormuz, they will be hit by the United States of America TWENTY TIMES HARDER than they have been hit thus far. Additionally, we will take out easily destroyable targets that will make it virtually impossible for Iran to ever be built back, as a Nation, again — Death, Fire, and Fury will reign upon them,” Mr. Trump wrote in a post. “But I hope, and pray, that it does not happen! This is a gift from the United States of America to China, and all of those Nations that heavily use the Hormuz Strait,” he added.

About 20–21 million barrels of oil move through the strait every day. Around 20% of global LNG trade also passes through the strait, which connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf Oman that joins the Arabian Sea. Traffic through the strait has been disrupted since the U.S. and Israel started the war on February 28.

The exiled son of Iran’s last shah called on U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday (February 14, 2026) to help the Iranian people and said it was “time to end the Islamic republic”.

“To President Trump… The Iranian people heard you say help is on the way, and they have faith in you. Help them,” the U.S.-based Reza Pahlavi told reporters at the Munich Security Conference.

Mr. Trump had said on Friday (February 13, 2026) that a change of government in Iran would be the “best thing that could happen”, as he sent a second aircraft carrier to the West Asia to ratchet up military pressure on the Islamic republic.

He had earlier threatened military intervention to support a wave of street protests in Iran that peaked in January and were met by a violent crackdown that rights groups say killed thousands.

Mr. Pahlavi, who has not returned to Iran since before the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the monarchy, said in Munich: “It is time to end the Islamic republic.”

“This is the demand echoing from the bloodshed of my compatriots who are not asking us to fix the regime but to help them bury it,” he added.

Mr. Pahlavi had encouraged Iranians to join the wave of protests, which Iranian authorities have said were hijacked by “terrorists” fuelled by their sworn enemies the United States and Israel.

Many protest chants had called for the monarchy’s return, and Mr. Pahlavi, 65, has said he is ready to lead a democratic transition.

The Iranian opposition remains divided and Mr. Pahlavi has faced criticism for his support for Israel, making a highly publicised visit in 2023 that fractured an attempt to unify opposition camps. He has also never distanced himself from his father’s autocratic rule.

The Kremlin said on ​Monday (February 2, 2026) that Russia was still ‌trying to ​de-escalate tensions around Iran, and that it had long ago offered its services to process or store Iran’s enriched uranium.

Asked if ​Russia was discussing ⁠with Iran and the United States the possibility of taking ​Iranian enriched ⁠uranium, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said: “This topic has been on the agenda for ‌a long time.”

“Russia has ‌been offering its services for quite ‍a long time as a possible option that ‍would lead to the removal of certain irritants for a number of countries,” Mr. Peskov said.

“Right now, Russia is continuing its efforts, continuing ⁠its contacts with all interested parties, and maintains ​its readiness to de-escalate tensions ⁠around Iran to the best of its ability,” he said.