Trump reverses course on Iran strikes
President Donald Trump announced Thursday evening that he had cancelled planned strikes against Iran, citing what he described as progress in bilateral talks. The reversal came just hours after the US president had threatened to hit Iran 'very hard' in response to escalating hostilities across the Middle East. Trump said discussions with Iran had been 'brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved.'
Two days of tit-for-tat attacks
The cancellation followed 48 hours of escalating exchanges between the two nations. Iran had retaliated against earlier US strikes by targeting American assets in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, with Bahrain reporting damage to its capital city overnight. Iran's top joint military command, Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, warned the US would receive a 'more severe response than before' if it attacks Iran again.
Broader regional tensions persist
The US-Iran standoff unfolded alongside renewed ceasefire mediation efforts in Gaza, where Israeli strikes killed three people on Thursday. Meanwhile, G7 leaders meeting in Evian-les-Bains, France, grappled with the dual crises of Iran and Ukraine. The developments also raised global oil price concerns, with markets watching closely for any disruption to Middle East supply routes.