Trump calls – Hours after Donald Trump warned he would strike Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and take “total control” of its oil and gas industries, the U.S. president said he called off new military strikes. The reversal came as talks were said to be approved by Iran’s top leade
For the third day this week, the Middle East woke to the sound of escalation—until, suddenly, it didn’t.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that he had called off new military strikes on Iran. hours after posting online that the U.S. would hit Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and take “total control” of Iran’s oil and gas industries. In a separate social media post. Trump said the move was made “based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved.”.
The whiplash landed in a region already strained by two days of back-and-forth attacks between the U.S. and Iran that pushed the prospect of full-scale war closer. Just hours before the reversal. Trump’s threats suggested momentum toward a broader seizure of Iran’s energy system had hardened—then he was describing progress.
He wrote that “discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail,” approved by the United States, Israel, and other regional allies. He did not provide details.
Trump’s latest threats also fit a pattern of public impatience. Over the last several weeks, he has repeatedly claimed that the warring sides were near a deal. Nothing has ended the war yet, but the rhetoric has kept tightening.
As the U.S. called off strikes, Iran’s political leadership warned that sudden decisions could destabilize energy markets. Iran’s parliamentary speaker. Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf. wrote that “wrong strategies and impulsive decisions” would wreak havoc on energy markets and “create an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years.”.
The most intense stakes are tied directly to energy—and to how quickly that leverage can shift from diplomacy to force.
Trump’s threats on Thursday were the latest verbal escalation over Iran’s oil industry and the choke point that underpins global supplies. Iran’s monthslong hold on the Strait of Hormuz has disrupted energy flows, driven up fuel prices, and pushed food and other basics higher well beyond the region.
Earlier in the day. Trump had threatened to seize Kharg Island. the heart of Iran’s oil industry through which 90% of its exports pass. Kharg Island sits on the other side of the Persian Gulf from U.S. bases in Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. It also matters because Iran’s coastline is mostly too shallow for tanker ships to dock.
In a Thursday interview on Fox News, Trump said: “My preference has always been to take Kharg Island.” He added, “I don’t know that America has the stomach for it to be honest.”
He also described how the island’s proximity would make American troops vulnerable. Kharg Island is about 33 kilometers (21 miles) from Iran’s mainland, where missiles, drones and artillery could be fired. Even while he talked up the possibility, Trump signaled he remained reluctant to send U.S. forces into Iran.
“I don’t want to have boots on the ground,” Trump said. “But if I wanted to we could put a small group of soldiers and take over the place.”
Trump compared his threat to seize Iran’s oil industry to the U.S. taking control of Venezuela’s oil sector after capturing then-president Nicolás Maduro in January.
As the U.S. weighed whether new strikes were necessary, Iran argued the ceasefire had already been undercut. Iran’s Foreign Ministry said the U.S. attacks had “effectively rendered the ceasefire … meaningless,” without saying it was abandoning it.
The most recent exchange of fire rattled the region for the third time this week. The first involved attacks between Iran and Israel. Then came two rounds of fire between the U.S. and Iran, targeting the countries where U.S. troops are based.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said airstrikes ending early Thursday targeted Iran’s military surveillance, communications and air defense sites.
Explosions were reported around Iran’s capital, as well as in Bandar Abbas and other southern areas along the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard said the hits included a manufacturing complex, a military barracks and a local Guard base outside Tehran.
Tehran said it fired back at Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan.
Kuwait closed its airspace for several hours but did not report any damage. Jordan said it intercepted 20 Iranian missiles fired toward a base hosting U.S. troops, though no one was hurt. Bahrain’s Interior Ministry said an 11-year-old girl was hurt and cars and homes were damaged by debris from intercepted Iranian strikes.
Even with fighting limited compared with the early weeks of the war, negotiations were still moving—or at least being described as moving. The U.S. and Iran have been in talks to extend a fragile ceasefire, while tensions remain anchored in the nuclear dispute.
Tehran insists its nuclear efforts are peaceful. The U.S. and Israel fear Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium could be used to build an atomic weapon.
Iran also says any deal to end the war must include an end to fighting in Lebanon between Hezbollah—an ally militia—and Israel. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears intent on destroying Hezbollah.
Away from the diplomatic language, ordinary Iranians described fear and strain.
A 25-year-old student in northern Iran. in the city of Babol. said Iranians are fearing “chaos” as attacks escalate and crises pile up at home. He said many Iranians are struggling to afford groceries due to mass job losses and triple-digit food inflation. The student spoke on the condition of anonymity out of security fears. and told the story with blunt exhaustion: “Everything is going wrong and there is no hope among the people.”.
He said his main concern is that Iran “maintain territorial integrity and deterrence” amid attacks by the U.S. and Israel.
Economic pressure is also being applied through shipping.
The U.S. military’s Central Command said Thursday that it struck a Guinea-Bissau-flagged tanker attempting to evade the American blockade on Iranian ports. It said the M/T Jalveer was transporting Iranian oil and was disabled late Wednesday after its crew failed to obey U.S. orders.
It was the ninth merchant vessel the U.S. military says it disabled to enforce the blockade.
Earlier, three Indian sailors were killed when American forces struck the Palau-flagged M/T Settebello on Tuesday. India’s minister overseeing ports and shipping said Thursday on X. The U.S. Central Command said warnings were issued before firing and that it accused the ship of trying to evade the blockade.
The leader of the International Maritime Organization, a United Nations agency, condemned the attack.
Trump’s reversal—calling off new strikes after threatening a much larger energy takeover—leaves the question hanging over every talk and every threat: whether the next move will come from the negotiating table, or from the battlefield.
What is clear from the sequence is that the region is living inside a cycle of sudden escalations and sudden pauses, with energy markets, shipping routes, and the daily cost of food and basics all exposed to the next decision.
Trump Iran military strikes oil industry Kharg Island Strait of Hormuz ceasefire negotiations energy markets U.S. blockade merchant ships
So he threatened it then just… didn’t? Make it make sense.
I swear these posts are just to scare people. Like “VERY HARD TONIGHT” was a whole nothingburger. Also oil industry control?? That sounds insane if it’s even real.
Calling off strikes because Iran “approved talks” is probably PR. Next thing you know he’ll say it was working all along and everyone will clap. Half the time these updates are backwards too, like I saw another headline where it was already “called off” yesterday.
This is why nobody trusts the government. One minute “total control” of their oil, next minute “talks at highest level,” like they didn’t just escalate for 3 days. I don’t even know what the point was except to get gas prices to move… and now they’re acting surprised.