Minister: Israel will strike if Iran renews nuclear, missile programs

Iran denies it asked Trump not to strike or agreed to deal to split control of Hormuz

Regime’s media mocks Trump’s climbdown; Israel still mum after US announces deal is imminent; Saudis confirm pushing Trump to hold off attacks; Iranian armed forces remain ‘on high alert’

Iranian semi-official news agencies on Sunday denied US President Donald Trump’s claim hours earlier that Tehran had asked the US to hold off on any attack, and also negated reports that it had agreed to a deal that would divide control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran’s Mehr news agency on Sunday denied the claim by Trump — made as he announced that he had called off strikes since “the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to” — that the Islamic Republic asked the United States to refrain from conducting new strikes.

Citing military officials, the agency said the allegation “was nothing but a new lie” and that the Iranian armed forces were “on high alert and ready for any eventuality.”

Other Iranian media outlets mocked Trump for the climbdown, with Kayhan saying he “backed away from his positions once again, after about a week of boasting and threats against Iran, claiming that an agreement was close.” Echoed semi-official media outlet Mehr: “Trump once again backed away from his hollow threats and presented his retreat to the world as a favor.”

Israel’s Channel 12 news reported Sunday that Trump called off the strikes after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi agreed to a compromise deal on opening up the Strait of Hormuz. According to the report, based on two diplomats familiar with the situation, a compromise deal put together by Qatar and the US would see ships enter the Persian Gulf on the Iranian-controlled side of the strait and exit via the Omani side.

Oman agreed to the deal but sought assurances that the agreement would be respected by Iran’s hardline Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which the Qataris are attempting to secure, according to the report.

The report made no mention of fees for transiting the strait, which has been a major sticking point.

But Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday quoted a member of the country’s negotiating team saying that the Israeli media report was “false.”

Fars also quoted the official as saying that “as long as the United States maintains its hostile actions, the Strait of Hormuz will remain closed” to any ship that does not coordinate with Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.

The hardline body is seen as a significant obstacle to reaching a deal and there are questions regarding how much it is aligned with Iranian diplomats trying to negotiate with the US.

Iran has blockaded Hormuz since the start of the war, requiring vessels to obtain permission and pay transit fees before using the waterway.

Deterrence

While there was no official Israeli reaction, Energy Minister Eli Cohen said Sunday that there was close security and intelligence coordination between Israel and the US on everything happening in the region.

“With or without an agreement, and regardless of any external commitments, if Iran attempts to renew its nuclear program or advance its ballistic missile industries, we will be there. We will take action, and we will strike,” he told Army Radio.

While Trump’s announcement touted a deal on Hormuz, it did not mention Iran’s nuclear or missile programs, the destruction of which were key aims when Israel and the US launched the war.

Cohen also claimed that Iran feared an Israeli reaction and so had refrained from striking Israel, while it had hit most other countries in the region that hosted US forces.

“Iran held off on attacking us, because they are deterred, something that highlights Israel’s standing in the Middle East,” Cohen said. “They attacked all the other nations in the region except for Israel. It speaks for itself.”

Iran also claimed that it has deterred the US and Israel from renewing strikes.

Iran’s acting defense minister, Brigadier General Majid Ebn Al-Reza, said Tehran viewed recent US threats as “psychological and cognitive warfare” but was treating them seriously, adding that Iran would boost preparedness and deterrence rather than be caught off guard or remain passive, Press TV reported.

Saudi influence

Trump announced a halt to what had been touted as an imminent major attack on Iran after speaking via phone with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on Saturday.

In his call with Trump, the Saudi crown prince, widely known as MBS, stressed the “necessity of prioritizing dialogue to deescalate tensions” in the Middle East, “and the importance of exerting all possible efforts to achieve a truce that paves the way for diplomatic solutions,” according to a Sunday statement from Saudi Arabia’s state news agency.

A White House official told Reuters that the two leaders had spoken but did not provide details.

Iranian state media said the Saudi and Iranian foreign ministers also held a call and that Tehran also spoke with Pakistan and Turkey, which have acted as mediators in the talks, about “the risk of escalating tensions and insecurity in the region.”

Trump’s apparent deescalation after days of threats of new attacks from each side marked the latest turn in the war the US and Israel launched five months ago. Attacks have spread across the Gulf to the Red Sea and even a Mediterranean facility in Egypt.

The risk of Iranian attacks has deterred most shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, an important conduit for global energy supplies, since the start of the conflict, sending shockwaves through the world economy.

US embassies in capitals across the Middle East had warned their citizens on Saturday to beware of “unforeseen escalation” in the regional conflict and urged them to be ready to leave, hours before Trump’s announcement appeared to calm tensions.