01. What happened
President Donald Trump has told senior advisers in recent days that he may hold off on attacking Iran if the United States faces no new provocations from Tehran or the Iran-backed Houthis in Yemen, Reuters reported on Saturday, citing three people familiar with the matter.
In meetings with his national security advisers and after a series of intelligence briefings, Trump said he was considering holding off on strikes, the sources said. They spoke on condition of anonymity.
Trump has alternated between threats to escalate the war with new strikes and winding down hostilities, and current and former officials told Reuters he does not appear to have made up his mind about how to resolve the conflict, which he launched in February with Israel.
02. What Trump has said in public
The private message matches what Trump has said in public. On Monday, he said he planned to hold off on new strikes for now, citing appeals from Gulf neighbours including Qatar’s prime minister, and said the naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz stays in place.
On Thursday, he told sports broadcaster Stephen A. Smith: “I could end it immediately, but at the request of the nations that I am looking to protect, we are doing it a little bit longer way, a bit more civilly.”
03. Calls with Saudi Arabia and Turkey
In phone calls over the past two weeks, Trump asked for opinions from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, who both urged him not to resume attacks on Iran, according to a senior US official and another person familiar with the matter.
A White House official neither confirmed nor denied the Reuters report, saying Trump, as Commander-in-Chief, is the sole decision-maker and will always protect US interests. The CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence did not respond to requests for comment.
04. Why it is not settled
The pause is far from certain. The Wall Street Journal has reported that Trump told aides he expects to resume bombing by the end of November, and that he is open to Vice President JD Vance restarting talks, with Vance considering a meeting with Mohsen Rezaei, a senior Iranian security official.
Iran-linked outlet Saberin News, citing Axios, reported that a call by the war secretary to resume strikes was turned down. That claim has not been confirmed by US officials.
05. Why this matters
The signal comes on a day when the shipping crisis in the Strait of Hormuz deepened. Iran said on Saturday that three oil tankers caught fire after hitting naval mines in and around the strait, in claims that have not been independently confirmed. The United Nations told the Security Council on Friday that 25 seafarers have been killed in 134 confirmed incidents in and around the strait since February.
Whether Trump holds off or resumes strikes will shape the war, oil prices and shipping through the strait, which carries around a fifth of the world’s seaborne oil.
Sources: Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, NPR. This report is based on people familiar with the matter speaking on condition of anonymity; the White House has neither confirmed nor denied it.
