Trump Hints at Talks with Iran on the 3rd... Has an Agreement on Opening the Strait of Hormuz Been Reached?

[Financial News] U.S. President Donald Trump, who abruptly canceled a large-scale airstrike on Iran, said on the 3rd (local time) that he would hold talks with Iran. He is expected to discuss the issue of opening the Strait of Hormuz during those talks.

According to Agence France-Presse (AFP), Trump told reporters aboard his private jet on the way back from Bedminster, New Jersey, to Washington, D.C., on the 2nd that the talks were underway in a negotiation format. "We are talking with Iran in a negotiated form," he said, adding that they were "scheduled to begin tomorrow afternoon." He also said, "An agreement on the Strait of Hormuz has been reached, and an agreement on denuclearization will also be reached." However, he did not disclose the details of the agreement, the negotiating counterpart, or the location of the talks.
Trump had announced on the 31st of last month that he would launch a large-scale strike against Iran's energy infrastructure, but he suddenly canceled the attack on the 1st through social media. In his announcement that day, he claimed that Middle Eastern oil-producing countries, including Saudi Arabia, had urged him to call off the strike.
On the 2nd, Trump said the planned strike would have been "the largest attack since World War II," claiming it would have taken Iran years to recover from the damage. When asked whether Iran's energy facilities were among the targets, he declined to answer, saying, "I can't say."
Trump also responded to questions about the possibility of military action by saying, "We are ready to act at any time if necessary," and "We are ready to move whenever we want." He added, "If we negotiate, we can save many lives," and said, "We can prevent unnecessary use of force. I don't want to kill people."

[email protected] Park Jong-won Reporter