Trump says he ‘cancelled’ strikes against Iran, announces ‘great settlement’ with Tehran

United States President Donald Trump on Thursday said that he had “cancelled” a third consecutive day of planned US strikes on Iran, claiming that a deal with Tehran was close to being finalised and that the time and place for signing would be announced soon.

Speaking later at the White House, Trump announced a “great settlement” to end the war in West Asia, adding that he expected it to be signed in Europe as soon as this weekend, AFP reported. He said that Vice President JD Vance would represent the US at the signing.

“The [Strait of Hormuz] ​will officially open as soon as we sign, which could be ​soon, very soon,” Reuters quoted him as saying.

The remarks came just hours after Trump had warned that US forces would strike Tehran “very hard tonight”.

Since mid-March, Trump has repeatedly ⁠claimed ​that a deal with Iran to end ​the war is close.

In the past week, the two sides have traded strikes, straining a ​ceasefire announced on April 8.

Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said that Tehran had not yet arrived at a final conclusion on any agreement, AFP reported.

After Trump’s announcement, oil prices fell sharply, with the benchmark Brent crude dropping to a two-month low. Brent was trading at $88.7 per barrel on Friday after...

Read more