Trump Says Talks With Iran to Start Monday on Deal to Reopen Hormuz

U.S. President Donald Trump announced that negotiations with Iran were set to commence on August 3rd, aimed at finalizing a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. This development comes after Trump decided to halt a planned large-scale attack on Iran over the weekend.

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We’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon, and we’ll see if it’s [good]. I’d love to do that. We’d save a lot of lives, save a lot of unnecessary power.

Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One that discussions would begin Monday afternoon, expressing a desire to reach a deal that could save lives and prevent unnecessary use of power. He indicated that the deal would address the reopening of Hormuz and potentially Iran's nuclear threat, though he suggested the nuclear issue might be addressed in a subsequent agreement.

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We were all set to go at this time right now, and it would have been a massive attack… but [then] the allies asked to call it off… The reason they ask is they think there’s a deal. There’s a deal on Hormuz, and then there will be a deal on the denuclearization of Iran.

However, the situation remains fluid. Iran asserted that the attack's cancellation was a direct result of their warning of retaliation. Meanwhile, mediators have reportedly been discussing a potential deal for weeks, and Trump's comments suggest a shift towards diplomacy after receiving requests from Gulf leaders, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar, to call off the attack. This contrasts with some reporting that suggested the UAE favored escalation.

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What would you rather do? Would you rather us do this or not? They said we would much prefer a deal as opposed to an attack, because you don’t know where these attacks lead.