Iran Dismisses Trump's Deal Claim as "Psychological Operations"
Iran hardened its denial on Sunday that any deal was in the offing to end the war, dismissing President Trump’s claim to have called off a strike in exchange for an “imminent” agreement as “psychological operations”. Tehran said it had never asked for the attack to be halted and had agreed to no arrangement to share control of the Strait of Hormuz, which it insists remains closed. Reports of a sixty-day understanding to reopen the waterway went unconfirmed.
The flat contradiction between Washington and Tehran left the status of the war deeply murky: American strikes were paused, but no ceasefire had been agreed and Iran was publicly rubbishing the very deal Mr Trump had trumpeted. Israeli officials were said to have learned of the strike’s cancellation from Mr Trump’s social-media post rather than any call, a sign of the confusion. Qatar and Saudi Arabia had pressed for restraint, fearing Iranian retaliation against Gulf oil. Whether the pause holds or the bombing resumes may become clearer once oil markets reopen and tempers cool. Watch for any confirmed agreement, or a return to strikes.