A statue of Palestinians stands with Iranian flag as a banner shows newly elected Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya, center, alongside the late leaders Ismail Haniyeh, right, and Yahya Sinwar, with writing in Hebrew reads: 'From Sinwar’s generation, the new leader on the ground,' and in Arabic: 'Khalil al-Hayya, the occupiers’ nightmare” at Palestine Square in downtown Tehran, Iran, August 1, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)
Iran says talks with Oman over Hormuz are in final stages

Deal said in the works to revive US-Iran MOU, open Hormuz for 60 days without fees

Report says Israel planned to join US in attack on Iran’s energy sites, was left in the dark when Trump called it off; president had reportedly been told by Qataris that Tehran agreed to open strait

by · The Times of Israel

A deal is being mediated to return the United States and Iran to the memorandum of understanding the two countries signed last month, sources aware of the details told Channel 12 on Sunday.

The deal would ensure that the Strait of Hormuz remains open for 60 days without fees and renew a ceasefire between the two sides, according to the report.

Around the same time, Iranian state media said negotiations between Iran and Oman over a mutual mechanism to govern the strait were in their final stages.

The US-Iran memorandum obligated Iran to fully open the strait “for 60 days only,” and did not impose restrictions after that.

It collapsed amid competing claims over Hormuz, with US President Donald Trump insisting the strait would be open, while Tehran believed the deal allowed it to dictate the route taken by ships through the key waterway.

Late Saturday, Trump said Iran had agreed to open the strait and announced that he had called off a major attack on the Islamic Republic, adding that Israel was on board. Tehran denied there was a deal.

According to Channel 12, Israel was to be part of the attack, which was called off about 24 hours before it was set to begin, and only learned that it would not be carried out after Trump published a message to that effect in a social media post.

Women walk past a banner showing portraits of the late Iranian revolutionary founder Ayatollah Khomeini, left, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, center, and the late supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed in the US and Israel strike on February 28, under a bridge in northern Tehran, Iran, August 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Planning for the attack began on Wednesday, a day after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met with Trump at the White House, according to the report.

The US Central Command prepared an attack plan on Iranian energy infrastructure. “Israel was supposed to be part of the plan,” a US official told Channel 12.

Israel told the US that if the attack did not significantly damage Iranian economic and regime targets, there would be no point in carrying it out.

Qataris told Trump Iran agreed to open Hormuz

On Friday and Saturday, Qatar engaged in intensive talks with Iran, the US, and Oman to try to head off the attack and open up the Strait of Hormuz, according to the report.

Qatari officials told Trump on Saturday that they needed another day to reach a solution with Iran, and he agreed. Later in the day, Qatar told Trump that Iran had agreed to a proposal to open the Strait.

Meanwhile, Saudi Crown Prince Mohamed Bin Salman called Trump to urge him not to strike, and Trump then posted on Truth Social that he was calling off the attack and that Iran had agreed to open the strait and end its nuclear program.

US President Donald Trump welcomes Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to the White House, November 18, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

According to the report, neither Israel nor the US military’s Central Command were told of Trump’s decision, and learned of it – along with the rest of the world – by way of the president’s social media post.

Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and other senior officials reportedly thought the statement was an attempt to lull the Iranians into a false sense of security.

Senior Israeli official: ‘President Trump left us in the fog’

Israel was left in the dark for hours about the expected joint attack with US, senior defense and diplomatic officials told Channel 12.

“For hours, we were in real uncertainty,” a senior official said. “President Trump left us in the fog. Senior officers were updated about what was happening via Trump’s social media.”

Eventually military and diplomatic officials were able to reach their American counterparts to verify that Trump had indeed changed his mind about the strike, the report said.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Israel Katz, and IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir attend the graduation ceremony of an IDF officers’ course in southern Israel, June 25, 2026. (Flash90)

“The feeling was that they left us behind,” said the senior Israeli official.

“The moment we lower our alert level, it takes a lot of time to reorganize,” the source continued. “It is frustrating to commit all our resources to one theater, and then to discover that we had been on high alert for nothing. We don’t understand what the president’s endgame is.”

However, Israel believes Trump could change his mind in an instant, and Israeli forces remain on high alert, the report said.

UAE pushed Trump to take decisive action, WSJ reports

The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday that, while Saudi Arabia had pushed Trump to refrain from a major attack on Iran over the weekend, the United Arab Emirates had lobbied him to take more decisive action.

The report, which cited senior Gulf officials familiar with the discussion, said the UAE argued that the IRGC would not budge on its demands without an escalation by the US, including Washington taking control of the Strait of Hormuz and possibly launching a ground incursion.

The UAE has carried out its own strikes against Iran, and hosted Israeli air defense troops on its soil to help counter Iranian attacks.