US President Donald Trump has said negotiations with Iran will begin on Monday after he decided to hold off on new strikes against the Islamic republic to pursue a deal.

"Obviously, they don't want to be attacked. They knew the extent of the attack because they saw it forming," Trump told reporters on Sunday aboard Air Force One. "Now what we're doing is we're talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon."

Iran had said earlier on Sunday that it was nearing a deal with Oman over a new route through the Strait of Hormuz, hours after the US called off major strikes.

The foes have been at war since February 28, when the US and Israel launched surprise strikes against Iran, though months of on-off diplomacy have led to periods of relative calm.

Following a return to strikes last month, fears had mounted that the fighting could escalate once again. Trump had threatened to hit Iran "very hard" and was reportedly considering renewed attacks including against energy infrastructure, with US embassies across the region on alert.

But the US leader appeared to have changed course after a flurry of diplomacy, including speaking with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman.

On Saturday, Trump said "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".

"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," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

Iranian media denied that Tehran had asked Trump not to strike.

Iranian lawmaker Hassan Ghashghavi, spokesman for the parliament's national security commission, said on Sunday that mediators were trying to revive the so-called Islamabad memorandum of understanding, which was agreed in June.

That memorandum was not intended as a final peace deal, but as a stepping stone to negotiations on a comprehensive agreement, though it did include provisions on Hormuz.

"They know that the main issue and, in fact, the key to the matter right now is the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, so yes, there is an exchange of views," Ghashghavi said.

Posting on X, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said: "We must strive to compel the enemy to remain committed to what it has signed."

Hormuz, a vital route for global oil and gas supplies, has been at the centre of the failed diplomatic efforts so far.

Before the war, there was free passage for all vessels, but Iran closed the strait during the war and now insists on retaining control and charging tolls, something the US rejects.

The dispute over the Strait of Hormuz sparked the return to strikes last month, as Tehran refused to let ships travel any route other than one which hugs the Iranian coast.

On Sunday, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told state television that a deal was close with Oman, which sits on the other side of the strait, over a new route through it.

"We are now going to reach an understanding on a route acceptable to both sides – neither the northern route nor the southern route – but one that respects the sovereign rights of both sides and safeguards our national interests and security," he said.

He insisted though that such an agreement did not mean the reopening of the strait. (AFP)



Edited by Cecil Wong