Trump says he called off Iran strikes to 'make a deal' with Tehran

President Donald Trump canceled an expected round of U.S. airstrikes against Iran late Saturday after he said a rough framework of a peace deal had been reached.

Trump said the U.S. military was 'locked and loaded and ready to go' for the pending attack against Tehran, but he held off after speaking with leaders of Gulf states.

The U.S. and Israel were reportedly preparing to bomb Iran's energy infrastructure as soon as that weekend, with a campaign that could have lasted several days.

A prior 14-point memorandum of understanding signed by both sides collapsed after renewed hostilities and ceasefire violations; Iran began attacking commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz last month, prompting U.S. retaliatory airstrikes.

On Truth Social, Trump wrote: 'We have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack'. He said the framework 'would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran's nuclear threat'. He added: 'Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD' and 'The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment. Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE'.

At a televised Cabinet meeting at Camp David on Friday, Trump vowed to hit Tehran 'very hard' until Iranian officials said, 'We just can't take it anymore.'

Saudi Arabia was among the nations that urged Trump to hold off. Per the Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with Trump and 'stressed the need to prioritize dialogue to reduce escalation and the importance of making every possible effort to achieve calm'.