U.S. President Donald Trump clarified on Saturday that Washington remains ready to launch a comprehensive attack on Iran if it does not comply with U.S. demands.
In an interview with France's LCI channel, Trump stated, "Pausing the strikes does not mean we have retreated," adding, "We are still prepared to carry out a wide-ranging attack on Iran if they fail to meet our requirements."
Notably, the United States ceased air raids on Iran on Saturday for the first night in two weeks. Washington has not yet provided an explanation for the sudden halt in a series of escalating strikes that spanned 13 nights following the collapse of a temporary agreement. The attacks were in response to Iranian assaults on ships in the Strait of Hormuz.
There were also no reports on Saturday of Iran launching attacks on regional countries, contrary to the daily assaults previously noted.
According to the Axios website, which cites two anonymous sources, Trump ordered the military on Friday to refrain from launching new attacks on Iran.
A temporary truce meant to end hostilities between Tehran and Washington effectively collapsed two weeks ago when U.S. forces attacked targets in southern Iran in retaliation for Iran's disruption of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
In recent days, Trump has threatened to expand the list of targets to include Iran's power stations and bridges and hinted at deploying ground forces to seize Kharg Island, a key oil export hub in Iran. He also considered attacking an underground site linked to Iran's nuclear program, known as Fordow. However, on Friday, Trump stated he had yet to decide on executing new significant attacks.