WASHINGTON — We have a deal.
President Trump canceled impending US strikes and a purported plan to storm Iran’s Kharg Island Thursday, telling The Post that an agreement between Washington and Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin nuclear negotiations was “all wrapped up.”
“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, cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening,” he said on Truth Social.
President Trump called off strikes on Iran Thursday. Aaron Schwartz/POOL via CNP/INSTARimages.com
“Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others.”
Trump’s announcement came after The Post reported Iran had submitted a final draft of a prospective agreement to Qatari mediators Wednesday night.
“It’s pretty much all wrapped up,” the president told The Post in a brief phone call.
Details of the new agreement were not immediately unavailable, but Trump indicated that the US would lift its nearly two-month-old blockade of Iranian ports once the deal is signed — something Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said would only happen if Iran reopened the Strait of Hormuz.
“Naval Blockade will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized,” Trump said on Truth Social, adding that an in-person signing ceremony would happen at a “time and place … to be announced shortly.”
Iran finalized its latest draft of a proposed agreement with the US as missiles whizzed back and forth between the two belligerents, submitting it to Qatari intermediaries to pass on to Washington, US and regional sources familiar with mediations told The Post on Thursday.
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“The text of the agreement was completed and finalized on Wednesday evening,” according to a regional source familiar with Iranian leadership. “Doha has been in contact with both Iran and the United States to facilitate the agreement.”
“If final approval is granted, the implementation process of the understanding will begin,” the person added.
The apparent breakthrough happened after US forces pounded Iran’s coasts overnight, targeting missile and radar systems in retaliation for the Islamic Republic downing an American Apache helicopter over the Strait of Hormuz Monday night, as source familiar with the operation told The Post.
The strikes lasted approximately four hours and ended shortly before dawn broke across Iran, targeting the theocratic regime’s “military surveillance capabilities, communication systems and air defense sites,” according to US Central Command.
Trump announced the agreement hours after threatening to strike Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” in a Thursday morning post to Truth Social, adding that the US would also soon invade Kharg Island, a hub of Iranian oil refinement.
“At some point in the not too distant future, we will be taking Kharg Island, and other oil infrastructure points, and assume total control of their Oil and Gas Markets, much like we have with Venezuela,” Trump wrote on Truth Social after 8 a.m.
Cargo and commerical vessels seen anchored in the Strait of Hormuz off the coast of Bandar Abbas, Iran on June 8, 2026. AP Photo/Amirhosein Khorgooi
He later said he has always preferred the military option of seizing the island that produces roughly 90% of Iran’s crude oil, but has held back so far as he worried Americans wouldn’t support it.
“We are talking to them, and all, but you know, look, my preference has always been — take Kharg Island … my preference would be that,” he told Fox News’ “Fox and Friends.”
“I don’t know that America has the stomach for it.”
Iran has been quietly betting the president would not launch such an operation, which US military sources have told The Post would risk the lives of US troops and require boots on the ground.
“I believe he knows he can’t win in a war, but at the same time the Israelis and the Zionist lobby won’t let him sign an agreement,” an Iranian source close to the regime told The Post this week.
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The Jewish state has yet to publicly comment on the reported agreement, but a senior Israeli official told told Israel’s Channel 12 they were “not aware of any agreement being reached.”
Prior to Thursday, the president had claimed a deal was “close” at least 37 times since the start of the war on Feb. 28, according to a review by The Post of prior statements to reporters and social media.
Tehran so far has not made a formal public statement on the agreement, but Iran’s IRGC-linked Fars News Agency denied one had been finalized.
“An informed source told FNA Iran has not approved any draft agreement or initial memorandum with the US, contradicting President Donald Trump’s claim that Tehran agreed to a finalized text,” the outlet posted to X after the announcement.
Trump has previously said a deal signing or future in-person negotiations could take place in Pakistan, thanks to Islamabad’s extensive work on the deal. He has a cozy relationship with the country’s Field Marshal Asim Munir, who has been engaged in shuttle diplomacy, passing messages between Tehran and Washington.
In addition to Qatar, Pakistan has been facilitating most communications between Washington and Tehran as both sides try to develop a memorandum of understanding to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin nuclear negotiations.
Other locations previously suggested for a signing ceremony include Turkey, Switzerland and Qatar.