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Officials in Iran have reportedly been left fuming after US President Donald Trump claimed the country asked him to hold off on fresh strikes.
Iran’s Mehr news agency on Sunday denied Mr Trump’s claim. Citing military officials, the agency said the allegation “was nothing but a new lie” and that the Iranian armed forces were “on high alert and ready for any eventuality”.
On Saturday local time, Mr Trump said the US was “ready to go against the Islamic republic” but that Tehran and other Middle Eastern countries had asked him to hold off on new attacks.
He said he had made the decision, subject to reaching a deal with Iran.
“This would include the Immediate, Complete and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat,” wrote Trump in a Truth Social post.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi warned Iran is ready to respond in a “powerful” way if there is any further “aggression” from the United States.
Mr Araghchi’s warning was published on his Telegram channel following separate calls with regional counterparts including Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan and Pakistani Field Marshal Asim Munir on Saturday.
Earlier, Mr Trump had seriously considered attacking Iranian energy targets in response to Iran’s missile strike on a US base in Jordan and its continued disruption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz. However, he later “cancelled” the widely-anticipated attack.
Iran and the US have been at war since February 28. A period of calm followed a ceasefire, though that collapsed with a return of strikes.
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