US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he had cancelled planned military strikes against Iran after negotiations with Tehran reached what he described as the highest levels of the Iranian leadership and received approval from all parties involved.“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 wrote on his Truth Social platform.The US leader also said a new deal with Iran could be signed as soon as this weekend, possibly in Europe, after repeatedly suggesting in recent weeks that a breakthrough with Tehran was imminent despite continued fighting and repeated setbacks in diplomatic efforts.The announcement marked a sharp shift in tone after Trump earlier warned that US forces would strike Iran “VERY HARD TONIGHT” and suggested Washington could seize control of Kharg Island, the Gulf terminal through which most Iranian oil exports pass.Iranian officials had responded to those threats by warning that a renewed military campaign could trigger a wider regional conflict and further disrupt global energy markets.“Wrong strategies and impulsive decisions will reset the entire board for the worse, explode energy infrastructure and markets and create an endless quagmire that you will be stuck in for years,” Iranian parliamentary speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Tehran’s chief negotiator in talks with Washington, said earlier on Thursday.The Strait of Hormuz remains a focal point of the US-Iran standoff. Photo: AP