Iran has called BS on Donald Trump’s claim that it was returning to peace talks because of the specter of a “massive” attack by U.S. forces.
Trump’s war on Iran, which by the president’s reckoning was only going to last “four to five weeks,” has rumbled on for over five months and claimed the lives of 18 American service members. Fighting has been punctuated by two formal ceasefires. Both have been spectacularly shattered, with each side pointing the finger of blame at the other.
Speaking on board Air Force One on Sunday, Trump, 80, claimed that Iranian officials became keen on a pact after seeing a “massive attack” forming.
He said that Iran “knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming,” adding: “We’re talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon.”
In his apocalyptic hubris, Trump added that the strikes would have been “the biggest attack since World War II.”
Before the chat with the press gaggle on the presidential jet, he said on Truth Social that Iran and U.S. allies in the Middle East had urged him to “hold off” as the “perimeters” of a deal had been agreed.
But Iran has rubbished both messages, essentially accusing Trump of lying. Esmaeil Baghaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry, said that Tehran was negotiating with Oman, a U.S. ally situated close to the Strait of Hormuz, to reach “an understanding over a path to ensure the security of shipping passage” through the strategic waterway.
However, these negotiations are bilateral, and had almost already produced a deal when Trump started talking about a pact on Air Force One, according to the Washington Post.
“We’ll just see how it is. We’re ready to go anytime we want... I’m not looking to kill people,” said Trump, who has repeatedly claimed war talks were close, only for strikes to resume. He declined to offer a timeframe.
He also demurred on any specifics, not revealing where the apparent talks would take place or what parties would attend. U.S. talks with Iran are often performed through mediators.
Saudi Arabia and Qatar have been involved in previous negotiations. Trump said that the leaders of these nations, U.S. allies, had urged him to pull back on planned strikes.
“We were all set to go,” Trump said. “The reason they asked is [that] they think there’s a deal,” he said. “There’s a deal on Hormuz, and there will be a deal on the nuclear.”
This marks the eighth time he has halted planned strikes during his five-month conflict, according to the Associated Press.
The markets reacted to Trump’s good news, with the global oil price falling. Brent Crude oil fell by 4.5 percent to $83.98, after it climbed more than 20 percent last month. U.S.-traded oil was 4.6 percent lower at $80.74. S&P 500 futures are rallying, as are bonds.
Trump has been accused of trying to manipulate markets with his statements on the war. In June, he posted on Truth Social, threatening to hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT,” and to “assume total control” of Iran’s oil and gas industries, including the key Kharg Island, in the “not too distant future.”
Markets dropped globally. Hawaii Democrat Brian Schatz called it as he saw it. “I think the war hasn’t really stopped. I think he tries to manipulate markets, to say that a deal is imminent,” the senator said.
“And there’s no real evidence that a deal is imminent.”
Indeed, Trump later backed out of the apparent attack. “Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have, as President of the United States of America, canceled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening,” he announced on Truth Social.
Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency, meanwhile, called Trump’s latest announcement “nothing but a new lie.”
Despite the move being straight from the Trump playbook, Iran’s acting Defense Minister Majid Ibn al-Reza said that Tehran still views all threats as “real and credible.”
In early April, Trump made his most apocalyptic threat, saying that “a whole civilization will die tonight” if Iran didn’t go to the negotiating table.
The threat gave way to face-to-face talks in Pakistan, led by Vice President JD Vance. No deal materialized.
The White House has been contacted for comment.
