Trump Halts Iran Strikes After Gulf Allies Intervene
US President Donald Trump walked back his threat of massive military strikes against Iran after receiving urgent appeals from Gulf allies, temporarily easing global oil market tensions. The sudden reversal is part of a volatile pattern of high-stakes brinkmanship that has defined Washington's strategy in the five-month-old conflict.
The US had warned that it was prepared to hit Iranian power generation facilities and seize key nodes of its petroleum export network. However, Trump announced a strategic pause on Saturday evening, citing rapid progress in diplomatic backchannels.
Regional stakeholders, including Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, lobbied the White House for more time. Trump confirmed that unnamed Iranian officials had also intervened, stating that 'they didn't want us to do it' and that a deal was imminent.
The pause provides critical relief to the Central Bank of Kenya's foreign exchange reserves, which closely track Brent crude indices to set monthly pump prices in Nairobi. A full-scale US strike on Iranian oil infrastructure would have choked global supply chains, forcing EPRA to hike local fuel prices and accelerating inflation.