Trump says the US and Iran are close to reaching a peace agreement and cancels the plan for a new round of military strikes against Iran.

President Trump said on Thursday that the U.S. and Iran had "just reached a great resolution to the conflict," with only the finalization of related documents remaining. He expected the agreement to be formally signed in the coming days and stated that the Strait of Hormuz would reopen after the agreement was reached. The international financial markets reacted quickly to this news. Major U.S. stock indices and precious metals rose sharply, while international oil prices significantly decreased, as investors bet that the months-long conflict in the Middle East was about to reach a turning point. Trump stated at the White House that the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran had reached the highest levels of Iran's leadership and received the necessary approval, leading him to cancel the planned military strikes against Iran that evening. Trump stated, "The discussions and final terms have been agreed upon in principle and detail by all parties." According to his statement on social media platforms, countries including the U.S., Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, and Egypt have expressed support for the agreement framework. However, Trump did not include Iran in the list of countries that had approved the agreement. Iran denies having approved the agreement text Despite Trump's positive signals, Iran quickly responded to the news. Iran's official Fars News Agency stated that Tehran had not approved any draft memorandum of understanding with the U.S. Fars reported that Iran had not yet provided a final response to the agreement and instead, the U.S. had returned to some key issues proposed by Iran earlier. The report indicated that the latest statement by the U.S. government was more of a strategic adjustment after failing to make substantial progress through military pressure, rather than a formal agreement reached by both sides. However, Fars also mentioned that since the U.S. seemed to have accepted some of Iran's previous proposals, there was still the possibility of further discussions and progress on the agreement. Trump cancels new military strike plan Trump's latest statement was a stark contrast to his tough rhetoric just hours before. Earlier on Thursday, Trump had warned of a "very tough" military strike against Iran that night and had planned to target key Iranian oil infrastructure, including Kharg Island. The U.S.-Iran conflict had appeared to escalate previously. Trump accused Iran of shooting down a U.S. Army helicopter conducting a patrol mission near the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. In response, the U.S. carried out airstrikes on Iranian targets on Tuesday, leading Iran to retaliate. The U.S. then launched missile strikes on Wednesday. In his latest statement, Trump announced the cancellation of the planned military operation, but emphasized that the U.S. would continue the naval blockade on Iranian ports until the final agreement was officially completed. The Strait of Hormuz could reopen Trump stated that once the agreement was formally signed, the Strait of Hormuz would resume normal navigation as soon as possible. The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world's most important energy transport routes, accounting for about one-fifth of global crude oil trade. Since the outbreak of war, the strait has been continuously affected by military tensions and has become a focal point for the global energy market. Analysts pointed out that if the strait returned to normal navigation, the international supply risk of crude oil would significantly decrease, which was a key reason for the rapid drop in oil prices after Trump's speech. Market speculates cooling tensions In fact, Trump had publicly stated over 30 times since the end of February that a peace agreement was "about to be reached." Although previous statements had not been fulfilled, the market still responded positively to this news. Investors believed that even if the final agreement had not been formally signed, the negotiation signals from the U.S. and Iran indicated a reduced risk of further escalation in the situation. Meanwhile, Israel's Prime Minister's office confirmed that Trump had communicated with them about the negotiations on the same day. The statement said that Israel was not a direct participant in the negotiation of the agreement, but Netanyahu welcomed Trump's efforts to promote the agreement and emphasized that the final agreement should include restrictions on Iran's nuclear capabilities and other related behaviors. Market analysts believe that the coming days will be a crucial window to observe the situation between the U.S. and Iran. If both parties can reach a consensus on the formal text, the geopolitical risks in the Middle East are expected to significantly ease. However, if the negotiations stall again, the current market optimism may quickly reverse. For global investors, whether the Strait of Hormuz can resume normal navigation, whether international oil prices can continue to fall, and whether the U.S. and Iran can truly end the months-long military conflict, will be key variables affecting global market trends in the near future.