President Donald Trump cancelled planned strikes on Iran Thursday, claiming all parties approved a peace agreement, though Tehran says it has made no final decision.

Writing on Truth Social, Trump said talks with Iran had reached and won the approval of the country’s highest leadership, and that he had therefore “cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening.” He said the final points of an agreement had been approved in concept and in detail by the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt and others, that the American naval blockade of Iranian ports would stay in force until the deal is signed, and that the time and place of the signing would be announced shortly. Speaking later in the Oval Office, he said the documents should be completed within days, suggested a signing ceremony possibly in Europe, and indicated the nuclear question had been settled conceptually.

The announcement was an abrupt reversal. Roughly five hours earlier, Trump had threatened to hit Iran very hard that night and to seize Kharg Island and other oil installations. The United States resumed strikes on Iran this week after Iranian forces downed an American Apache helicopter, shattering a nominal ceasefire that had held shakily for weeks, and US Central Command said Thursday its forces had disabled three oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman while enforcing the blockade.

Iran has not confirmed that any agreement exists. Officials in Tehran said no final decision had been taken, and the semiofficial Tasnim news agency urged that Trump’s statements be weighed against his earlier claims until Iran itself announces an understanding. The Fars news agency denied a concluded deal while allowing the possibility that Tehran could eventually sign. Sources briefed on the negotiations told the American outlet Axios that talks between Iranian officials and Qatari mediators narrowed key gaps on Wednesday, with Qatar, Egypt, Turkey and Pakistan all pressing for a conclusion in recent days.

According to that reporting, the draft under discussion is a memorandum of understanding that would extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz, lift the naval blockade and open 60 days of negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme, leaving sanctions relief and the nuclear file for later talks. Trump said Iran would agree never to hold a nuclear weapon.

Caution is warranted by the record. Since the crisis began, Trump has repeatedly declared a deal imminent, issued ultimatums and then extended them, including a two week pause agreed in April after Pakistani mediation, without a signed agreement emerging.

The stakes reach far beyond the region. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz has pushed up energy and fertilizer prices worldwide, and the World Bank this week forecast the weakest global growth since the pandemic, with Brent crude projected to average $94 a barrel in 2026 even assuming the worst disruptions ease by July. Whether that assumption holds may now rest on a signature Tehran has yet to promise.

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