WASHINGTON, AUG 2 (AP): US President Donald Trump says he will order American forces to hold off on new strikes against Iran, claiming Mideast allies have reached the parameters of a deal to end the 5-month-old war.
The emerging deal “would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat,” Trump wrote in a Saturday evening social media post.
“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,” Trump said.
Trump has announced halts to strikes in Iran on several occasions since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, only for things to unravel and fighting to resume again.
Iran’s defence minister said on X that the country was “neither surprised nor passive” following Trump’s announcement and said Iran continues to remain alert in the face of concrete threats from the US.
Saudi crown prince urges Trump not to escalate Iran war
WASHINGTON, AUG 2 (AP): Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the kingdom’s de facto leader, in a phone call with President Donald Trump raised concerns about the US potentially escalating the conflict with Iran, according to a person familiar with the leaders’ discussion.
The discussion on Saturday, which was first reported on by Axios, comes as Trump weighs whether to carry out new strikes on Iran.
The Saudis, according to the person briefed on the substance of the call but not authorised to comment publicly, are concerned that if the US targets Iran’s energy infrastructure or carries out massive strikes on other key infrastructure, Tehran could respond by carrying out attacks on the kingdom’s and other Gulf countries’ energy infrastructure.
The crown prince during Saturday’s call sought clarity from Trump on what potential new action he’s weighing to take against Iran, the person said.
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment about Saturday’s call.
Israel says it has serious concerns with Hamas disarmament deal
TEL AVIV, AUG 2 (AP): Israel has shared “serious security concerns” with the White House regarding the proposed disarmament deal with Hamas, an Israeli official told The Associated Press on Sunday in some of the first public comments since US President Donald Trump announced the agreement earlier this week.
Doron Spielman, spokesperson for the Israeli Prime Minister’s office, told the AP that Israel’s intelligence assessment is that Hamas remains committed to rebuilding its military rather than genuinely demilitarising. He said the Israeli military would not withdraw from Gaza — where it controls more than 60 per cent of the territory — before Hamas disarms.
“Our assessment is that if we redeploy before Hamas is truly disarmed, it will quickly expand its presence throughout Gaza, rebuild its terrorist infrastructure, once again threaten Israeli communities, and seek to carry out another Oct 7-style attack,” he said, referring to the attack in 2023 that triggered Israel’s war in Gaza.
“Disarming means physically giving up the weapons. Nothing less,” Spielman said.
Hamas says it has agreed to disarm but the process is littered with obstacles
Trump’s 20-point ceasefire plan calls on the militant group to surrender its weapons and destroy its vast network of tunnels. It also envisions Israeli forces withdrawing from Gaza, the arrival of a new technocratic Palestinian government, deployment of an international security force and the rebuilding of the battered Palestinian enclave.
Hamas disarming has been a sticking point and has deadlocked negotiations for months. In announcing the deal on social media, Trump said it would be carried out in “carefully structured phases.”
A copy of the agreement obtained and verified by the AP said that all weapons held by the Hamas-run police will be transferred to the US-backed Palestinian technocratic committee, known as the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, upon its arrival in the enclave.
It’s not clear when that would happen since it is contingent on other steps.
A process to decommission and store heavy weapons and to dismantle military production sites and tunnels will begin after the arrival of the Palestinian committee and the deployment of international forces. The process will be linked to a phased Israeli withdrawal, according to the agreement.
