President Donald Trump has announced the cancellation of planned military strikes on Iran, claiming progress in negotiations. The U.S. will hold off on new attacks after requests from the Islamic Republic and other Middle Eastern nations, as the perimeters of a deal have been agreed upon. Israel has also committed to joining the U.S. in the effort to complete the agreement, provided a deal to end the months-long conflict is reached quickly.
The planned operations would have involved one of the harshest bombing campaigns to date, specifically targeting energy infrastructure within Iran. These strikes were intended to convince Tehran to surrender.
In the lead-up to this decision, Iran's military accused the U.S. of moving down the path of escalating tensions. Tehran warned against any adventurous action and stated it would retaliate decisively if American forces followed through on threats of fresh attacks.
Trump previously signaled that military action could continue for some time, stating that the U.S. simply wanted to win. At a cabinet meeting on Friday, he expressed belief that negotiators could still reach a deal, although he noted he was losing faith.