Trump abruptly backs down on bombing threat

President Donald Trump called off his threatened strike on Iran.

The 79-year-old president announced Thursday morning on his Truth Social website that he planned to order U.S forces to hit Iran "very hard tonight," which House Speaker Mike Johnson downplayed as a negotiating tactic, but Trump backed down in a subsequent post.

"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 posted.

"Discussions and final points have been, in both concept and great detail, approved by all parties involved, including the United States, Israel, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Turkey, Pakistan, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan, Egypt, and others," he added. "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 has repeatedly threatened to escalate the conflict he launched Feb. 28 only to back down a short time later, but the Strait of Hormuz remains closed to commercial shipping traffic and no peace agreement has been reached.