Trump postpones strikes on Iranian power plants following talks with Tehran
President Donald Trump announced he’s postponing missile strikes on Iranian power plants for five days following “good and productive conversations” with Iran. He shared the news in a Truth Social post Monday, saying, “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.”
The president added that conversations regarding a “complete and total resolution” in the Middle East would continue throughout the week.
While speaking to reporters Monday, Trump clarified that he’s not speaking with Iran’s supreme leader, rather someone he says is “a top person.”
“We’ve wiped out the leadership phase one, phase two and largely phase three,” Trump said. “But we’re dealing with a man who I believe is the most respected and the leader, you know it’,s a little tough, they’ve wiped out — we’ve wiped out everybody.”
Previous deadline
The news of the postponement comes after Trump gave Iran a 48-hour deadline on Saturday to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, or face U.S. strikes on its energy infrastructure.
He said that the U.S. would “hit and obliterate” Iranian power plants if the Strait is not reopened.
At the same time, the White House made clear that military options are still under consideration.
“I would never take anything off the table for the president, certainly not on national television,” U.S. ambassador to the United Nations said on CBS. “And so to the extent we’re degrading their military capability and their defense industrial base, all options should be on the table, and the president’s made that very clear.”
Iran responded by warning it would shut the waterway completely and target energy sites across the region if the U.S. follows through.
The Strait of Hormuz handles a major share of the world’s oil supply, so any disruption has global consequences.
‘Major, major threat’
The back-and-forth comes as the head of the International Energy Agency, Fatih Birol, warns that the global economy faces a major threat, saying no country will be immune if the conflict continues.
At Australia’s National Press Club on Monday, he said the war in the Middle East has had a worse impact on oil than both the 1970s oil shocks, combined.
“No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction,” Birol said, according to ABC News.
Financial markets reacted quickly, with Asian markets down sharply overnight and losses spreading into Europe.
However, following Trump’s Monday post announcing a pause on strikes, oil prices fell more than 4%. But even with the drop, prices still remain more than a third higher than they were before the U.S. and Israel launched their attack on Israel.
Conflict continues
In Tehran Monday morning, power is out in parts of the city after a new wave of Israeli strikes.
Saudi Arabia says it intercepted two Iranian missiles headed toward Riyadh.
The death toll continues to rise, with thousands killed across Iran and Lebanon since the fighting began more than three weeks ago.
U.S. officials say 13 Americans have died since the conflict started on Feb. 28.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
