Iran talks set to resume Monday as Trump pulls back strike order

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that a new round of Iran nuclear talks will begin Monday, hours after he said he had called off what officials described as a massive military strike against Iranian targets. The sudden diplomatic pivot came after weeks of some of the heaviest fighting since Washington and Tehran entered open conflict on February 28.

A strike called off at the last minute

Trump confirmed on his Truth Social platform that he had ordered a halt to military action that was, in his words, “ready to go.” He didn’t elaborate on what specific targets were planned, but three US defense officials, speaking anonymously, told reporters the operation had involved more than 80 aircraft and a salvo of cruise missiles aimed at Iranian nuclear and military infrastructure. The order to stand down came late Friday night.

It’s the closest the two sides have come to a major escalation since the initial strikes in late February, which killed more than 400 people on both sides and destroyed key facilities near Isfahan and Natanz.

Both sides cautiously agree to talk

Monday’s negotiations will take place in Oman, the same Gulf state that quietly brokered back-channel contacts in March and April. A senior State Department official confirmed the talks would begin at 10 a.m. local time in Muscat, though they cautioned expectations should be kept low.

“We’re going to the table, and that’s a step,” the official said. “Nobody’s promising anything beyond that.”

Tehran’s foreign ministry released a brief statement saying Iran was “prepared to engage in conditional dialogue” but insisted any agreement must include a full lifting of sanctions imposed since March. That’s a sticking point Washington hasn’t budged on.

A conflict that has dragged on for months

The war, now entering its fourth month, has reshaped the Middle East in ways few anticipated. Iran’s air defense network is largely degraded. Israel has lost 23 aircraft to Iranian missile fire. Oil prices briefly hit $134 a barrel in March before settling near $112. And nearly 6,000 civilians across the region have died, according to UN estimates released last week.

Diplomatic efforts have stalled and restarted four times since March. Each ceasefire lasted days, sometimes hours.

Still, Monday’s announcement carries a different weight. It’s the first time Trump has personally confirmed talks after having authorized a strike order. That sequence — approve the attack, call it off, announce diplomacy — mirrors almost exactly what happened with North Korea in 2017, a parallel several analysts were quick to draw Saturday.

What happens next

If talks collapse again, military planners in Washington have said the strike package remains on the table and could be executed within 48 hours. But for now, both governments are sending delegations rather than missiles, and that alone counts as progress in a conflict that’s already cost far more than anyone publicly predicted.

The world will be watching Muscat on Monday morning.