President Donald Trump declared Monday that newly planned talks with Tehran represent the "last chance" for Iran to forge a deal, aiming to avert an escalation of U.S. strikes. Speaking from the Oval Office, Trump stated he expects negotiations to begin today, focused on reopening the Strait of Hormuz and addressing Iran's nuclear program.
Trump outlined a two-phase process for the deal, stating, "The first phase is the opening of the straits. The second phase will be the denuclearization." He acknowledged that this process "will take a little while," signaling a potentially protracted engagement.
On Saturday night, Trump indicated via a Truth Social post that the U.S. had paused new attacks against Iran. He wrote, "The U.S.A. is locked and loaded and ready to go against the Islamic Republic of Iran, at levels of Military Terror, Strength, and Power not seen since World War II."
Despite this readiness, Trump claimed, "we have just been asked by Iran, and other Middle Eastern Countries, to hold off any attack in that the perimeters of a deal has been agreed to." This alleged agreement, he stated, would include the "Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat."
Trump concluded his post by asserting, "Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL." He added, "The Country of Israel joins me in this commitment. Get to work, everybody, and get it DONE."
National Interest or Global Agenda?
Former National Counterterrorism Center Director Joe Kent weighed in, calling President Trump's decision to again call off strikes on Iran "a good decision." Kent wrote that it is "clear that he wants out of this war, for all the obvious reasons," highlighting a potential alignment with the native working class's desire to avoid foreign entanglements.
Kent also noted that "Iran will not simply return the SOH [Strait of Hormuz] to how it was before the war." He warned against using military force to open the Strait, stating, "we’ve tried that without a catastrophic escalation into a bloody, years-long war." Kent urged President Trump to "pull our troops out of the region," suggesting he could "declare victory (reiterate the previously stated goal—no nukes—was met) & quietly use the carrot of sanctions relief to open the SOH once our troops are out of harm’s way."
White House spokesman Davis Ingle offered a different framing, stating that "What matters most to the American people is having a Commander-in-Chief who takes decisive action to eliminate threats and keep them safe." Ingle asserted that Trump campaigned on denying the Iranian regime nuclear weapons, and Americans are "already safer because of his bold leadership." He emphasized that the President makes national security decisions based on "the best interests of the American people," not "fluid opinion polls or political pundits."
Disputed Narratives
Iran's semi-official Mehr News Agency immediately pushed back against Trump's narrative, calling his claims that Iran requested a halt to attacks "nothing but a new lie." NPR further reported that Mehr described the U.S. president's assertions as "simply a new lie," citing unnamed Iranian military figures.
Despite the conflicting accounts, Trump confirmed while speaking to the press aboard Air Force One on Sunday that negotiations would begin "tomorrow afternoon," referring to today, August 4, 2026.