Trump says Iran talks set to begin after calling off 'massive attack'

US President Donald Trump said new negotiations with Iran will begin Monday, after he decided to hold off on striking the Islamic republic to pursue a deal ending a war now in its sixth month.

Trump said the talks would cover the Strait of Hormuz and Iran's denuclearization, as Tehran said it was nearing a route deal with Oman.

When will the new Iran talks start?

New talks between the United States and Iran are set to begin Monday afternoon, Trump confirmed Sunday. He gave no details on the venue or participants. Oil prices dropped after the announcement, with West Texas Intermediate falling 4.7 percent to $80.72 per barrel in early Asian trade Monday.

"Now what we're doing is we're talking to them in the form of a negotiation. It begins tomorrow afternoon," Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One on Sunday. He said Iran, along with US partners Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, had asked him to hold off on strikes he claimed would have been the biggest attack since World War II. Iranian media denied that Tehran had made such a request.

Why did Trump pull back from striking Iran?

Trump pulled back from his threat on Saturday, saying the "perimeters" of a deal were in place. Fears of renewed escalation had grown after fighting resumed last month, with Trump threatening to hit Iran "very hard" and reportedly weighing fresh strikes on energy infrastructure. US embassies across the region were placed on alert during that period.

Washington and Tehran have been at war since February 28, when the US and Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran, punctuated by months of on-off diplomacy and brief periods of calm.

What will the Iran talks cover on the Strait of Hormuz?

Trump said at the start of the conflict that the war was necessary to address Iran's nuclear program. Western nations accuse Tehran of seeking a bomb, a claim Iran denies, insisting its program is civilian. A previous ceasefire deal that included reopening the Strait of Hormuz collapsed, and Iran has since tightened its grip on the waterway.

What is the 'exchange of views' over Hormuz?

Iranian lawmaker Hassan Ghashghavi, spokesman for parliament's national security commission, said Sunday that mediators were working to revive the US-Iran memorandum of understanding reached in June. That agreement was meant as a step toward a broader deal rather than a final settlement, though it did address Hormuz.

"They know that the main issue and, in fact, the key to the matter right now is the issue of the Strait of Hormuz, so yes, there is an exchange of views," Ghashghavi said. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X that "we must strive to compel the enemy to remain committed to what it has signed."

Is Iran nearing a deal with Oman on the strait?

Before the war, vessels moved freely through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran closed it during the fighting and now insists on control and tolls, terms Washington rejects. That standoff triggered last month's return to strikes, after Tehran refused to let ships use any route besides one hugging the Iranian coast.

Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told state television Sunday that a deal was close with Oman, which borders the strait's other side, over a new route. "We are now going to reach an understanding on a route acceptable to both sides, neither the northern route nor the southern route, but one that respects the sovereign rights of both sides and safeguards our national interests and security," he said, adding that such an agreement would not mean reopening the strait.

Maritime tracking firm Kpler said Friday that traffic through Hormuz had dropped sharply. On Sunday, a tanker off Oman's coast reported hearing an explosion nearby, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre said, adding the vessel and its crew were unharmed.