Trump calls off latest threats to strike Iran, citing a breakthrough in talks to end the war

(12 Jun 2026) RESTRICTION SUMMARY: PART NO ACCESS IRAN; NO ACCESS ISRAEL MEDIA, PERSIAN-LANGUAGE TV STATIONS BASED OUTSIDE IRAN, BBC PERSIAN, VOA PERSIAN, MANOTO TV, IRAN INTERNATIONAL TV./ PART NO USE BY ISRAEL MEDIA, PERSIAN-LANGUAGE TV STATIONS BASED OUTSIDE IRAN, BBC PERSIAN, VOA PERSIAN, MANOTO TV, IRAN INTERNATIONAL TV US NETWORK POOL Washington - 11 June 2026 1. US President Donald Trump speaking at the Oval Office in the White House ASSOCIATED PRESS Dubai, United Arab Emirates - 12 June 2026 2. SOUNDBITE (English) Jon Gambrell, The Associated Press: "U.S. President Donald Trump has again pulled back from dire threats to Iran, saying that he believes Tehran is on the cusp of coming to an agreement with the United States over the Iran war. Now, we've been here several times over the weeks of the shaky ceasefire that has seen Israel, Iran, and the United States exchange fire, particularly in the last week. But now, Trump is insisting that Iran is on the cusp of this deal. And it remains unclear whether that's actually the case. The Iranians for their part haven't said that a deal is imminent. We did hear from Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson who said that any deal would have to come with the assent of the top officials within the theocracy. Those top officials include Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei who remains in hiding after the killing of his father Ali Khamenei at the start of this war. And it's believed by analysts that it takes several days to get messages to Khamenei and then bring them back for the wider political structure in Iran's theocracy to see what he says. Now, if any deal is struck, it's likely to be a temporary sort of memorandum of understanding deal that could see traffic increase through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf through which about a fifth of all oil and natural gas traded passes. But the harder issues, like Iran's nuclear program and what to do with Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium, likely would be kicked down the road for further negotiations and doesn't necessarily mean that the war would stop entirely because those are going to be hard talks. Meanwhile Israel continues its campaign against the Iranian-backed militia Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel occupies the southern part of Lebanon and has gone into areas that it hasn't been in a quarter century. It maintains that it will continue its fight but Iran is demanding that Israel stop that campaign. So all these different things together and the uncertainty over whether we'll even reach this interim deal remain in place making the Middle East remain on edge." ++PLEASE NOTE: THIS VIDEO WAS PROVIDED BY THE U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND. THE AP CANNOT INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE DATE, LOCATION OR CONDITION UNDER WHICH THEY WERE SHOT++ U.S. CENTRAL COMMAND Gulf of Oman - 10 June 2026 ++BLACK AND WHITE/INFRARED VIDEO/MUTING AND ON-SCREEN GRAPHICS AT SOURCE++ 3. Black and white video of what U.S. military said was a strike an oil tanker that violated its maritime blockade on Iranian ports ++THE ASSOCIATED PRESS IS ADHERING TO IRANIAN LAW THAT STIPULATES ALL MEDIA ARE BANNED FROM PROVIDING ISRAEL MEDIA, PERSIAN-LANGUAGE TV STATIONS BASED OUTSIDE IRAN, BBC PERSIAN, VOA PERSIAN, MANOTO TV AND IRAN INTERNATIONAL ANY COVERAGE FROM IRAN, AND UNDER THIS LAW IF ANY MEDIA VIOLATE THIS BAN THE IRANIAN AUTHORITIES CAN IMMEDIATELY SHUT DOWN THAT ORGANISATION IN TEHRAN.++ FARS NEWS AGENCY - NO ACCESS IRAN; NO ACCESS ISRAEL MEDIA, PERSIAN-LANGUAGE TV STATIONS BASED OUTSIDE IRAN, BBC PERSIAN, VOA PERSIAN, MANOTO TV, IRAN INTERNATIONAL TV. Iran – Posted on 11 June 2026 STORYLINE: Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork Twitter:   / ap_archive   Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​ Instagram:   / apnews   You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...