Trump cancels Iran strikes as mediators claim deal close

President Trump announced that he canceled planned strikes against Iran on Thursday and claimed Iran's leadership "approved" a draft agreement that would extend the ceasefire, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and launch 60 days of negotiations on Iran's nuclear program.

Why it matters: Trump has claimed an agreement was close multiple times before, and Tehran has yet to confirm his latest claim. However, three sources briefed on the talks told Axios that key gaps were resolved during talks between Iranian officials and Qatari mediators on Wednesday.

What he's saying: "Based on the fact that discussions with the Islamic Republic of Iran have been brought to the highest level of Iranian leadership and approved, I have, as President of the United States of America, cancelled the scheduled strikes and bombings against Iran this evening," Trump wrote on Truth Social.

• He added that the final points of the deal have been, "in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved," including the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Egypt.
• "The Naval Blockade will remain in full force and effect until this Transaction is finalized — Time and place of the signing to be announced shortly," Trump added.

Behind the scenes: Negotiations continued late into Wednesday night in Tehran as Qatari envoy Ali Al-Thawadi and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi worked to bridge the remaining gaps between the U.S. and Iran.

• According to three sources briefed on the talks, the Qataris and the Iranians believed on Wednesday that they had reached an agreed-upon text that the U.S. would also accept.

The sources said the gaps were narrowed on three key issues:

• The mechanism for releasing Iran's frozen assets — the most important issue for the Iranians.
• Arrangements for reopening the Strait of Hormuz during the 60-day ceasefire period.
• How negotiations over Iran's nuclear program will be conducted during the 60-day ceasefire period.

According to the sources, Iranian officials told several countries on Thursday that the Tehran talks produced an agreement in principle, but Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei still needed to give final approval.

• The sources noted that both the Iranians and the Qataris had emphasized that the U.S. strikes overnight significantly increased Iranian suspicions about Trump's real intentions.

This is a breaking news story and will be updated.