In a social media post on Saturday (1 August) evening, Trump said Iran and other regional countries had requested the halt, citing progress towards an agreement that would include the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran's nuclear threat.

The announcement came hours after Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman expressed concerns to Trump about plans for massive new strikes on Iranian energy targets.

The Saudi leader, whose country fears retaliatory attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure, had dispatched his brother to Washington earlier in the week to convey Riyadh's preference for de-escalation over further military action.

Trump stated he had agreed to cancel the planned attack "for the future benefit of the world and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran," subject to being able to rapidly finalise a deal.

Israel agreed to join the United States in the commitment to pursue the agreement, which would bring an end to the war that began in February.

Officials from Qatar and Pakistan have been urgently working to facilitate negotiations between Iran and the United States.

The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly 20 per cent of global petroleum and liquified natural gas flows, has remained largely closed to commercial shipping since March, with tanker traffic down more than 95 per cent.

Mediators have been working to arrange safe passage through the strategic waterway as part of the emerging framework.

The development marks a significant shift from Trump's stance just days earlier, when he had vowed to hit Iran "very hard" following an Iranian attack on a US base in Jordan.

The conflict, which began with joint US-Israeli strikes in late February, has jolted global energy markets and raised concerns about economic stability ahead of US midterm elections in November.