Trump says Iran requested halt to attacks, warns of resuming operations if talks fail

President Trump announced that Iran has reached out to the US requesting a stop to military operations, adding that negotiations are underway with what he described as a good chance of reaching a deal. The statement comes as a ceasefire between the two nations has expired, with Trump warning that operations are ready to resume if diplomacy stalls. A ceasefire that didn’t quite stick An interim US-Iran peace deal was announced and signed around mid-June 2026, briefly calming nerves across global markets. The ceasefire has now ended, and negotiations are ongoing, but the threat of resumed military strikes looms over every trading session. US military operations against Iranian sites had already escalated tensions significantly before the interim deal. The fact that Iran reportedly initiated contact to halt attacks suggests the pressure campaign is having its intended effect, at least from Washington’s perspective. The crypto sanctions war running in parallel The US Treasury has seized or frozen approximately $1 billion in Iranian-linked crypto assets as of late May 2026. Nearly $500 million was seized in one tranche, with a specific $344 million freeze involving Tether wallets adding...