President Donald Trump announced on Thursday that he has canceled the next phase of planned military strikes against Iran, claiming "substantial progress" in backchannel peace negotiations. The decision comes after two consecutive days of U.S. airstrikes that targeted Iranian military installations and Revolutionary Guard positions across multiple provinces. Trump's pivot from escalation to diplomacy marks a dramatic reversal within 72 hours—a whipsaw that has left defense analysts, energy traders, and multinational corporations scrambling to reassess geopolitical risk.
The U.S. military had prepared additional waves of strikes for Friday, but Trump directly ordered their suspension late Wednesday evening, according to Pentagon officials briefed on the decision. The President stated during a press conference at the White House that "Iran has signaled willingness to engage seriously," without providing specific details about which channel or intermediary facilitated the negotiations. This abrupt pause introduces fresh volatility into global oil markets, which have already absorbed the initial shock of the two-day bombing campaign that briefly pushed crude prices toward $95 per barrel before settling back.
