US President Donald Trump has indicated that Washington and Tehran have begun what he described as “very good and productive conversations” aimed at a full resolution of the escalating conflict in the Middle East. Trump said he had ordered the postponement of any planned strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days to allow the talks to continue.
The move marks the first public hint of possible de-escalation since the war entered its fourth week. Responding to Trump’s latest post, Iranian state media said that the US President “backed down” fearing potential Iran reprisal.
In a statement released on his social media platform, Trump wrote: “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 Defense 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.”
The caveat was that the pause is temporary and entirely dependent on progress at the negotiating table.
There was no indication from Tehran that it had accepted any terms, nor any confirmation that formal talks were actually underway.
The announcement came only hours after Iran had issued fresh and explicit threats in response to an earlier American ultimatum. On Monday, Iranian officials warned they would lay drifting naval mines across the Gulf and strike power stations across the region if their territory came under further attack.
They released maps highlighting potential targets, including Israel’s two largest electricity plants and facilities in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Kuwait.
One accompanying graphic carried the stark headline: “Say goodbye to electricity.”
The rhetoric followed a midnight deadline set by Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the “obliteration” of its power infrastructure.
Tehran gave no sign of compliance. Instead, it has already restricted tanker traffic through the narrow waterway — a chokepoint for roughly one-fifth of global oil shipments — and launched retaliatory strikes on energy sites and US diplomatic missions across the Gulf, as well as targets inside Israel.