Trump cancels Iran strikes, claims deal framework approved by all parties

On Thursday, June 11th, Donald Trump announced he had canceled military strikes against Iran scheduled for that night—a sudden reversal that came just hours after he had threatened the country with what he called overwhelming force and vowed to seize its major oil infrastructure. In a social media post, Trump said the decision rested on high-level discussions with Iranian leadership that had reached agreement on both the conceptual framework and specific details of a potential accord, with all parties signing off on the terms.

The timing of the announcement was striking. Earlier that same day, Trump had posted in all capitals that American forces would attack Iran "WITH MUCH FORCE TONIGHT," and he had added a threat to eventually take control of Kharg Island and other critical oil facilities, comparing the move to what the United States had done with Venezuela's oil sector. Those posts came after a night of tit-for-tat strikes: American forces had targeted Iranian military surveillance centers, communications systems, and air defense installations across the country, and Iran had responded by firing roughly twenty missiles at an American base in Jordan and launching attacks on Bahrain and Kuwait, both U.S. allies hosting American troops.

Trump's announcement included a condition: a naval blockade would remain fully in effect until the transaction was completed, with signing details to be announced soon. The claim that a deal framework had been approved by all sides echoed language Trump had used before when predicting imminent agreements with Iran—predictions that had not materialized in the past. However, according to someone familiar with the matter who spoke to CNN, Iran had sent an updated version of its proposal to Washington through Qatari mediators earlier in the week, suggesting at least some active diplomatic channel remained open.

The broader context made the announcement's credibility uncertain. A ceasefire between the United States and Iran had been in place since April 8th, but it had become, in the words of Iran's Foreign Ministry, "practically irrelevant" after two days of renewed fighting. The ministry issued a statement saying that the illegal and criminal attacks perpetrated by the United States in recent hours not only violated the United Nations Charter but rendered the truce essentially meaningless. American strikes had hit targets in southern Iran as well as areas near the capital, including Karaj, Nazarabad, and Pishva, according to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

The most consequential Iranian response came through control of the Strait of Hormuz. A newly established Iranian agency overseeing the waterway announced on Thursday that the strait was completely closed to traffic until further notice. The closure was significant because roughly one-fifth of the world's oil passes through that chokepoint. Iran had maintained the strait in a largely blocked state since the start of its conflict with the United States and Israel on February 28th, though it had been allowing roughly twenty ships to pass daily. The Revolutionary Guard had already signaled on Wednesday that closure was coming in response to American attacks.

International actors moved quickly to respond. Pakistan, which has positioned itself as a mediator in the Middle East conflict, expressed regret over the military escalation and reiterated calls for a negotiated solution, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi emphasizing that diplomacy and dialogue should guide efforts toward peace. China issued a forceful call for all military operations in the Middle East to stop immediately, with Foreign Ministry spokesman Lin Jian urging both sides to resume talks, respond to mediation efforts from relevant countries, and achieve a comprehensive and lasting ceasefire as soon as possible.

In Jordan, the military announced that its air defense systems and air force had intercepted and destroyed twenty missiles fired from Iran toward the Azraq base, located eighty kilometers east of Amman. According to a military source, the interception caused no casualties or damage. The Iranian Revolutionary Guard had claimed responsibility for attacking an American command center in the country, though the Jordanian military's account suggested the missiles did not reach their intended targets.

With Trump's cancellation of the strikes and his promise of an imminent deal announcement, the immediate trajectory of the conflict remained unclear. The naval blockade would stay in place, oil markets faced continued uncertainty, and the ceasefire that had held since April was now, by Iran's own assessment, barely functional. Whether the claimed agreement framework would hold or whether the cycle of escalation would resume depended on details that, Trump said, would soon be made public.