US President Donald Trump is delaying a planned military strike on Iran scheduled for Tuesday because "serious talks" are underway, the AP reports.
Trump made the announcement on social media on Monday after threatening over the weekend that time to make a deal with Iran was running out and fighting could resume. Last week, he said the fragile ceasefire was on "life support" and that US forces had exchanged fire with Iranian forces.
The president has instructed the US military to "stand ready to strike Iran if a deal is not reached".
Over the weekend, he warned: "The clock is ticking on Iran and they better act FAST or there will be nothing left of them".
Trump said he was calling off the planned strike at the request of allies in the Middle East, including the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The president has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed down. But he has also indicated in the past that he would refrain from military action to allow negotiations to continue - only to turn around and launch strikes. This happened early in the war, when he ordered the strikes shortly after indicating he would allow negotiations to proceed.
In recent days, Trump has also spoken with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Chinese President Xi Jinping about the Iran war.
Earlier on Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said that the immediate concern of the U.S.-Iran talks was keeping the Strait of Hormuz open, but Iran's nuclear program remained a central issue.
During a joint news conference with his German counterpart in Berlin, Fidan said that much of Iran's enriched uranium, which could potentially be used for nuclear weapons, was buried under collapsed tunnels after the June U.S.-Israeli strikes. The United States has said it is closely monitoring any movement around the stockpile.
"There is currently no situation that poses a real threat," Fidan said. "But for that to continue, the parties must reach and conclude nuclear negotiations among themselves."
The Turkish minister said he believed Iran was not opposed to complying with the nuclear terms in principle, but added: "the question is what will be given in return, in what order and under what conditions."
With the talks breaking down last week, Iran's foreign minister said on Friday that a lack of trust was the biggest obstacle to the talks.
Iran, which says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, is said to have included some nuclear concessions in its latest offer to end the war. But Trump dismissed the offer as "garbage".