Iran denies talks with US after Trump postpones strikes on power grid
A European official said Egypt, Pakistan and Gulf countries were conveying messages, although there were no direct negotiations between the two countries. A Pakistani official and a second source told Reuters that direct talks on ending the war could be held in Islamabad this week.
Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform that the United States and Iran had “very good and productive” talks regarding “a complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East.”
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As a result, he said, he postponed his plan to strike Iran’s energy network by five days. His announcement caused stock prices to rise and oil prices to fall sharply below $100 per barrel; The market swoon over the weekend threats and Iran’s promise to respond was suddenly reversed.
Trump later told reporters that his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, who had been negotiating with Iran before the war, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were in talks with a senior Iranian official until Sunday evening and would continue Monday.
“We’ve had very, very strong discussions. We’ll see where they go. We have basic points of agreement, in fact we have almost all points of agreement,” he told reporters before leaving Florida for Memphis.
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He did not identify the Iranian official who was in contact with Witkoff and Kushner, but said: “We are dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and leading man.”
An Israeli official and two sources familiar with the matter said that the interlocutor on the Iranian side is Iran’s powerful parliamentary speaker, Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf.
THE PRESIDENT OF THE IRANIAN ASSEMBLY SAID ‘FAKENEWS’
Kalibaf said there were no such talks with the United States in X and ridiculed the proposal as an attempt to rig the financial markets.
“There have been no negotiations with the United States, and fake news is being used to manipulate financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the United States and Israel are stuck,” he wrote.
“The Iranian people demand full and remorseful punishment of the attackers. All Iranian authorities stand firmly behind their religious leaders and people until this goal is achieved.”
Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said they had launched new attacks on US targets, calling Trump’s remarks “worn out” and “psychological operations” that had no impact on Tehran’s struggle.
The IRGC said late Monday it had targeted several Israeli cities, including Dimona and Tel Aviv, and a number of US bases. He said the attackers were “negotiated” through “effects-oriented operations.”
The Israeli military said missiles launched from Iran were detected on Monday night for the first time since Trump’s previous statements, and at least one interceptor explosion was heard from Jerusalem.
In his video statement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that he met with Trump on Monday and that Israel will continue its attacks against Lebanon and Iran.
But Netanyahu said he believed Trump “could take advantage of the great successes of the IDF (Israeli Defense Forces) and the US military to achieve the goals of the war with an agreement – an agreement that would protect our vital interests.”
While there is no confirmation yet that the talks took place as Trump described, Iran’s foreign ministry has announced initiatives aimed at de-escalating tensions.
It was stated that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi reviewed the developments regarding the Strait of Hormuz with his Omani counterpart and an agreement was reached to continue the consultations between the two countries.
Iran has effectively closed the key Strait of Hormuz, through which about one-fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas passes. Trump demanded Iran open the strait, but Tehran said it would not do so until the United States and Israel stopped their attacks.
The Pakistani official said that Witkoff and Kushner, as well as US Vice President JD Vance, are expected to meet with Iranian officials in Islamabad this week, following the meeting between Trump and Pakistani army chief Asim Munir.
The White House confirmed Trump’s meeting with Munir. When asked about a possible visit by Witkoff and Kushner to Islamabad, White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said:
“These are sensitive diplomatic discussions and the United States will not negotiate through the press. This is a fluid situation and speculation about meetings should not be considered final until formally announced by the White House.”
Pakistan’s prime minister’s office and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Iranian media reported that Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed the impact of the war on regional and global security.
Pezeshkian was quoted as saying that Iran is determined to “maintain stability and security and counter foreign intervention in regional issues” and wants to strengthen cooperation with regional countries.
Iran had responded to Trump’s threat to strike power plants by saying it would collapse the infrastructure of US allies in the Middle East; This raised the possibility that the extreme disruption to global energy supplies would last longer than previously expected.
More than 2 thousand people lost their lives in the war started by the USA and Israel on February 28.
