CAIRO (AP) 鈥� U.S. President said in a Saturday evening social media post he will order American forces to hold off on new strikes against Iran, claiming Mideast allies had reached the parameters of a deal to end the five-month old war.
The emerging deal 鈥渨ould include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran鈥檚 nuclear threat,鈥� Trump wrote on Truth Social.
鈥淏ased 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,鈥� Trump said.
Israel agreed to join the U.S. in the commitment to try to complete the agreement with Iran that would bring about an end to the war, he added.
Saudis concerned about Iran retaliation
Prior to the announcement, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom鈥檚 de facto leader, spoke with Trump by phone and raised concerns about the U.S. potentially escalating the , according to a person familiar with the leaders鈥� discussion.
The Saudis, according to the person briefed on the substance of the call but not authorized to comment publicly, are concerned that Tehran could respond with attacks on the energy infrastructure of the kingdom and other Gulf countries.
The crown prince during Saturday鈥檚 call sought clarity from Trump on what potential new action he was weighing to take against Iran, the person said.
A White House official, who was not authorized to comment publicly and requested anonymity, confirmed the leaders spoke Saturday but did not offer any detail.
Kuwait said on Saturday it responded to a new round of drone attacks from Iran while a tanker was struck in the strategic waterway.
after the Palestinian militant group Hamas agreed to disarm.
Here are the most important developments in the Middle East today:
US threatened new strikes before announcement
Trump on Friday had as the U.S. pressed for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to reporters during a meeting with members of his Cabinet at the Camp David presidential retreat in Maryland, Trump said 鈥渨e just want to win鈥� in Iran and said the U.S. would hit Iran 鈥渧ery hard鈥� until they couldn’t take it anymore, he said.
Later that day, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt expressed the U.S. administration鈥檚 frustration that Tehran had last month signed a memorandum of understanding with the U.S. on a truce but then quickly 鈥渂roke it, shot at commercial ships, and killed American soldiers.鈥�
On Saturday, the U.S. State Department issued new security alerts for Americans in 10 countries in the region to exercise heightened caution due to the escalating tensions with Iran.
The warnings 鈥� covering Bahrain, Israel, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates 鈥� urged U.S. citizens to prepare for the possibility of flight cancellations, temporary airspace closures and other travel disruptions.
New attacks on Kuwait and shipping
Kuwait鈥檚 military said Saturday that its forces were responding to drone attacks which were part of Iran鈥檚 assaults on the country.
In a statement, Maj. Gen. Saud Abdulaziz Al-Otaibi, spokesperson for Kuwait’s Defense Ministry, said the drones hit 鈥渁 number of vital facilities,鈥� including a government structure in the country’s north. He said there were no casualties.
The British Navy said Saturday that a tanker was struck and a separate explosion hit close to a vessel in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Oman. No casualties were reported in either incident, it said. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Organization said an unknown projectile hit the vessel on Friday 11 nautical miles northeast of Lima, Oman. The attack damaged the vessel鈥檚 engine room.
The group said that on Saturday a large splash and an explosion were reported close to another tanker while it was sailing 21 nautical miles northwest of Khasab city.
Separately, crude oil appeared to be leaking and spreading in recent days from a sanctioned tanker grounded off the coast of Oman, close to a marine protected area, .
Iran has repeatedly attacked vessels attempting to transit through the Strait of Hormuz without its authorization as part of its ongoing conflict with the U.S.
Israel strikes Gaza after Hamas says it will disarm
Intense Israeli strikes Friday night and Saturday killed at least four people in central and northern Gaza and wounded dozens more, according to local health officials.
The strikes overnight in Gaza followed evacuation warnings by Israel鈥檚 military, which said on Saturday that it had struck Hamas targets across the territory and dismantled five Hamas storage facilities.
The strikes came after Hamas confirmed Friday that in a potential breakthrough for ending the war in Gaza, though major obstacles remain.
鈥� most of whom are displaced or live in camps 鈥� received the news with both hope and skepticism. A 24-year-old tuk-tuk driver, Abdel Moneim Aboul-Roos, who lost his leg in an Israeli strike, told The Associated Press that he doesn’t care about 鈥渢alk about withdrawal and disarmament鈥� as long as essentials like food and medicine remain lacking.
Israel has not officially commented on the Hamas deal, which is part of a announced last October.
That agreement called for Hamas to disarm and hand over power to an independent Palestinian administration. Israel was to withdraw and an was to be deployed.
In a post on X Friday, Israeli far-right lawmaker Itamar Ben-Gvir called the deal 鈥渦nacceptable鈥� and said the killings in Gaza must continue. 鈥淚srael must win,鈥� he said.
Egypt, a key Gaza ceasefire mediator, lauded Hamas and other Palestinian groups for 鈥渢heir positive response鈥� in the phased peace plan, Egyptian state-run media reported.
The AP of Trump鈥檚 plan to end the Israel-Hamas war.
for full coverage from AP on the disarmament deal for Hamas.
Elsewhere in the region
鈥� Houthi rebels forced eight Saudi ships to reroute from the Bab el-Mandeb strait after the Iranian-backed rebels announced a blockade on Saudi shipping in the choke point. Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, the military spokesperson for the Houthis, said in a statement Friday that the vessels changed route to the Cape of Good Hope around Africa to avert the blockade.
鈥� In southern , Israeli forces set off explosions Friday to destroy an underground tunnel network under the Crusader-built Beaufort Castle that Israel says had been used by Iran-backed Hezbollah militants as a command center. The 12th-century castle, also known as Al-Shaqif, was in May. It was recently over Israel鈥檚 objections.
鈥� Lebanon’s President Joseph Aoun said the Israeli operation sent 鈥渘egative messages鈥� ahead of upcoming talks in Rome. Israeli and Lebanese negotiating teams are set to meet again there to continue hammering out a plan under which Israel would withdraw from southern Lebanon in exchange for Hezbollah鈥檚 disarmament.
鈥� An Israeli army officer was moderately wounded in an encounter with Hezbollah militants in southern Lebanon overnight into Saturday, Israel’s military said. There was no immediate comment from Lebanese authorities or Hezbollah. Thirty-eight Israeli soldiers have been killed in Lebanon or northern Israel since that conflict reignited when Hezbollah fired at Israel shortly after the start of the Iran war.
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Madhani reported from Washington.
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