Trump said in a social media post that he made the move “based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved.”
The announcement came after two days of back-and-forth attacks between the U.S. and Iran had threatened pushed the Middle East closer to the resumption of a full-scale war.
Just hours after Trump posted on social media that the U.S. would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and take “total control” of Iran’s oil and gas industries, the president was suggesting that progress has been made in talks to extend the fragile ceasefire.
He wrote that “discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail,” approved by United States, Israel, and other regional allies. He did not offer details.
Trump on multiple occasions over the last several weeks has claimed that the warring parties have been on the cusp of a deal without anything coming to fruition.
Trump's most recent threats were the latest example of him voicing frustration with the stalled negotiations to end the war. He warned earlier in the week that Tehran would “pay the price” for taking too long to reach a deal.
Trump had threatened Thursday to seize Kharg Island, the heart of Iran's oil industry, through which 90% of its exports pass. Located on the other side of the Persian Gulf from U.S. bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia, the island is important because Iran’s coastline is mostly too shallow for tanker ships to dock.
It was unclear how serious Trump was about his threat to seize it.
“My preference has always been to take Kharg Island,” Trump said in an interview Thursday on Fox News. “I don’t know that America has the stomach for it to be honest.”
