Trump calls off threatened strikes, says deal with Iran is close

President Trump abruptly shifted course Wednesday, calling off a third night of threatened airstrikes against Iranian targets and declaring anew that a deal with Iran was imminent. The president's pronouncements, made in the Oval Office, followed a morning social media post in which he cited progress in negotiations as the reason for the attack stand-down. However, Iran quickly pushed back, with its foreign ministry spokesman stating that no agreement had been finalized and that American demands were in flux.

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It's a great deal. You know why it's a great deal? Because they will never have a nuclear weapon.

Earlier in the day, Trump had indicated that further strikes would occur, even threatening to target Kharg Island, a critical hub for Iran's oil exports. This followed two nights of U.S. missile strikes on Iranian military sites, which U.S. Central Command described as a response to "Iran's unwarranted and continued aggression." The situation presented a dizzying display of shifting presidential rhetoric.

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They have all approved the deal. Everybody's approved the deal. Now we will get it finished up, and hopefully that will be done.

Trump expressed confidence in the potential deal, stating, "They will never have a nuclear weapon." He also suggested that the removal of Iran's initial leadership had led to a more "rational" group in power. He mentioned speaking with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who, while appreciating Trump's peace commitment, noted Israel's non-party status to the proposed interim deal.

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We were going to hit them even harder tonight. They knew that. We told them exactly what we were going to do.

Despite Trump's claims of finalized agreements, the top spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, Esmaeil Baghaei, maintained that no final decision had been made. He indicated that while much of the deal's text was agreed upon, changing American demands complicated the process. The conflicting statements highlighted the volatile and uncertain nature of the negotiations.

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I really believe it's a regime change because I find these people to be much more rational than the people that are no longer with us. We knocked out the first team of leadership. The second team of leadership is a different group.