President Donald Trump said on Monday that the US has put off planned military strikes on Iranian power facilities and key infrastructure for five days after what he called “very good and productive” negotiations with Iran over the past two days.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that the talks were meant to bring about a “complete and total resolution” of violence in the Middle East. He stated that because of the “tenor and tone” of what he called in-depth, thorough, and constructive talks, he had told the U.S. military to hold off on any strikes while talks continued all week.
The statement marked a sharp reversal from Trump’s position two days earlier. In a Saturday post on Truth Social, Trump warned that if Iran did not “FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT,” the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours, the United States would “hit and obliterate” Iranian power plants, starting with what he called the biggest one first.
IRIB News reported that Iran’s military HQ indicated that if the US attacked Iran’s power plants, Tehran would seal the Strait of Hormuz until the destroyed facilities were restored.
The same statement stated that Israel’s electricity, energy, and ICT infrastructure will be attacked in return. It further said that if these attacks happened, power plants in Middle Eastern countries that host U.S. bases would be seen as valid targets.
The Iranian denial of any talks also grew sharper on Monday. Al Jazeera said that Iran’s semi-official Mehr news agency published a statement from the Foreign Ministry indicating that there was no communication between Tehran and Washington. The statement added that Trump’s words were meant to lower energy prices and give the military more time to plan, and it also said that countries in the region have started efforts to ease tensions.
Al Jazeera also alleged that Iran’s Fars news agency, quoting an unnamed Iranian source, indicated that there had been no direct contact with Trump, not even through a third party. The same source said that Trump had “backed down” after being told that Iran would attack power installations in Israel and across the Gulf.
Due to conflicting reports, it is not clear what the status of any U.S.-Iran contacts. Trump says that scheduled strikes have been pushed out five days for now. Iranian authorities, state-run media, and associated sites all say openly that there are no direct or indirect discussions going on.
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