US President Donald Trump said on Monday he will postpone military strikes against power plants and energy infrastructure in Iran for five days.
Trump announced the news on Truth Social – on Monday evening (Asia time) – saying “the US has had very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East”.
His decision followed a 48-hour ultimatum he gave on Saturday – to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if the Strait of Hormuz wasn’t reopened to tanker traffic by Monday.
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His warning spurred a threat from Iran to attack Israel’s power plants and those supplying US bases across the Middle East if the US strikes the power network in Iran.
Trump’s post suggested the US had had talks with Iranian officials since his threat on Saturday to target vital facilities in the country. He said conversations would continue this week.
I AM PLEASED 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. BASED ON THE TENOR AND TONE OF THESE IN DEPTH, DETAILED, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, WHICH 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. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP.
But Iranian state media have mocked his move, saying the US leader had backed down because of their firm response.
Tehran has not confirmed that any talks have been held with the US, and previously, the regime vowed not to negotiate.
“Trump, fearing Iran’s response, backed down from his 48-hour ultimatum,” read a graphic on IRIB state television.
“After the Islamic Republic warned that if America attacks Iran’s energy infrastructure it will target energy infrastructure across the entire region, Trump retreats and said he had ordered a delay of the attack,” the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Mehr, a semi-official news agency, said: “Iran’s warnings about a swift and powerful response to any potential strike on its energy facilities, led Trump to back down.”
Oil drops, markets rise
Nonetheless, markets and investors appeared delighted by the news.
Brent crude fell 13% to $96 a barrel but edged up to $101 at the time of writing.
Meanwhile, Dow futures jumped 1,100 points and major tech stocks saw gains, with Nvidia up 2%, Meta rising by 1.8%, and Amazon 1.5%.
The FTSE 100 index was up 0.5% after having fallen more than 2% prior to Trump’s post.
At the time of writing, it’s not clear who talks were held with, or what they focused on.
Commentators say there could have been a discussion on Iran’s ballistic missile programme or nuclear enrichment, or just a ceasefire, despite the fact Trump played down the chances of an end to hostilities on Friday.
And Israel was still launching strikes on targets in Tehran after Trump’s post.
Many analysts believe it is unlikely that Iran would open the Strait of Hormuz, as that is Tehran’s greatest point of leverage.
Shortly after Trump announced the postponement, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said the US leader’s reversal was “part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time to implement his military plans.”
In a statement carried by Mehr, the ministry said: “There is no dialogue between Tehran and Washington.
“Yes, there are initiatives from regional countries to reduce tensions, and our response to all of them is clear: We are not the party that started this war, and all such requests should be directed to Washington.”
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