Trump delays strikes on Iran power, energy plants for five days, citing ‘very good and productive conversations’
Trump delays strikes on Iran power, energy plants for five days, citing ‘very good and productive conversations’
President Trump announced Monday that the US will not attack any part of Iran’s power and energy infrastructure for five days after Washington and Tehran engaged in “very good and productive talks” over the weekend about ending the three-week-old war.
“I am please [sic] to report that the United States of America, and the country of Iran, have had, over the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East,” Trump wrote, without elaborating.
“Based on the tenor and tone of these in-depth, detailed, and constructive conversations, witch [sic] will continue throughout the week, I have instructed the Department of War to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five-day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.”
Iran quickly disputed Trump’s claims about talks, with the Foreign Ministry issuing a statement to state-run newspaper IRAN that read: “Remarks by the US president are part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time to implement his military plans.
“While there have been initiatives by regional countries to de-escalate tensions, Iran’s response has been clear: It did not start the war and all such requests should be directed to Washington.”
“We have had very, very strong talks, we’ll see where they lead,” Trump insisted to reporters as he left South Florida for an event in Memphis, Tenn. Monday morning. “We have points of, major points of agreement, I would say — almost all points of agreement. Perhaps that hasn’t been conveyed, the communication [network in Iran], as you know, has been blown to pieces. They were unable to talk to each other, but we’ve had very strong talks.”
“They want very much to make a deal. We’d like to make a deal too,” Trump went on. “We’re going to get together today by probably phone, because it’s very hard to find a country. It’s very hard for them to get out, I guess. But we’ll, at some point very, very soon, meet. We’re doing a five-day period. We’ll see how that goes, and if it goes well, we’re going to end up with settling this.
“Otherwise, we’ll just keep bombing our little hearts out.”
The Pentagon and US Central Command did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Trump’s announcement sent the benchmark Brent crude oil price below $100 per barrel from a high of nearly $109 per barrel ahead of trading hours, while Dow Jones Industrial Average soared above 800 points in the first 20 minutes of trading.
Moments after the Truth Social statement was posted, the Israeli military confirmed that it had launched another wave of strikes targeting “infrastructure of the Iranian terror regime” across Tehran.
The president had given Iran 48 hours to reopen the vital Strait of Hormuz as of Saturday evening, vowing that if the theocratic regime did not, “the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!”
Iran had responded by threatening to attack power facilities across the Middle East, leading state TV to post an on-screen graphic in reaction to Trump’s Monday statement that read: “US president backs down following Iran’s firm warning.”
Trump’s announcement marked the first official confirmation of any discussions about wrapping up Operation Epic Fury, which began Feb. 28 and which the president initially suggested could last about “four weeks or so,” which would place March 28 as a tentative end date for combat operations.
Prior to Trump’s announcement, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi acknowledged talking by phone with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. Turkey has been an intermediary before in negotiations between Tehran and Washington.
Trump had previously said that while Iran was interested in discussing a cease-fire after Tehran’s leadership was decimated, he was not.
“I don’t want to do a cease-fire. You know, you don’t do a cease-fire when you’re literally obliterating the other side,” the president told reporters as he left the White House Friday for a weekend at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
“From a military standpoint, all they’re doing is clogging up the strait. But from a military standpoint, they’re finished.”
The Strait of Hormuz, through which roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil traverses, has been essentially closed to shipping since the war began, driving oil prices upward and straining the global economy.
Almost simultaneous with Trump’s statement, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, who attempted to mediate the most recent round of talks between the US and Iran over the fate of Tehran’s nuclear program, said his country was “working intensively to put in place safe passage arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz.”
He did not elaborate.
