AUGUST 3, 2026

Trump announces pause in Iran strikes and says peace talks will begin Monday

President Trump announced Sunday that he was holding off on what he described as major new strikes against Iran and said negotiations to end the conflict would begin Monday afternoon. Trump said Gulf allies Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates urged him to pursue diplomacy, and that unnamed Iranian officials also made the request. Iran's Foreign Ministry said Tehran was not currently holding negotiations with the United States.

Trump said Sunday he had called off a plan he described as "the biggest attack since World War II," choosing instead to give diplomacy more time after hearing from Gulf leaders and, he said, unnamed Iranian officials. He said talks would begin Monday afternoon but did not identify who would participate or in what format.

Iran's Foreign Ministry directly contradicted Trump's framing. Spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Monday that ongoing talks were with Oman — not the United States — and were focused narrowly on establishing a temporary route for safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, a waterway through which about a fifth of all traded oil and natural gas passed before the war began in February.

Markets responded to the announcement. Reuters reported that oil prices fell and gold rose Monday as investors digested the prospect of reduced hostilities, with the moves reflecting eased near-term concern about inflation and higher interest rates. The New York Times led with the same market reaction, framing the story primarily around the drop in oil prices.