Trump delays promised attacks on Iran, claiming negotiations to end war. Iran denies talks

BEIRUT — President Trump and Iranian officials made conflicting statements Monday about a possible deal to end the war; While Trump extended the deadline for bombing Iranian power plants and claimed negotiations were ongoing, Iran denied having any dialogue with Trump officials.

“We’re in the throes of possibly getting a real deal,” Trump told reporters Monday. “If I were a betting man, I’d bet on it, but again, I’m not guaranteeing anything.”

Trump’s remarks came after he said in an early morning social media post that the United States had postponed planned attacks on Iran’s power plants and energy infrastructure for five days, based on “very good and productive discussions regarding the full and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.”

The president warned on Saturday that the United States would “destroy” Iran’s power plants if it did not open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.

Oil prices, which were higher in early trading on Monday, fell after Trump’s announcement as clashes continued to disrupt oil tanker traffic through the crucial strait; It was a change that Trump also hinted at in his later remarks.

“As soon as the deal is done, the oil price will drop like a rock. I think it already is today,” he said.

Meanwhile, Iranian officials have suggested that Trump lied about the negotiations in an effort to save oil prices and in response to threats of retaliation if Iran ordered attacks on its energy infrastructure.

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, wrote to

An earlier statement from Iran’s Foreign Ministry, cited by the semiofficial Mehr news agency, acknowledged what it called regional initiatives to reduce tensions but ruled out negotiations with the Trump administration and framed Trump’s message as an attempt to reassure nervous markets and “buy time” for military operations.

“Trump took a step back!” Other Iranian outlets, including Tasnim News, took a more triumphant view of Trump’s post.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi, who mediated negotiations between Tehran and Washington before the war, said Oman was “working intensively to implement safe passage arrangements” for Hormuz.

“Whatever your view on Iran, this war is not their doing,” Albusaidi wrote in a post on X. “This is already causing widespread economic problems, and I’m afraid it will get much worse if the war continues.”

The war, now in its fourth week, has killed more than 2,000 people and badly shaken the global economy, with attacks targeting oil and gas facilities and other civilian infrastructure in the region.

Confusion after the deadline is eliminated

Trump said over the weekend that if Iran does not allow ship traffic to resume in the Strait of Hormuz, the United States would destroy Iran’s power plants late Monday, posing a threat to desalination plants and sensitive nuclear facilities that provide electricity and drinking water to much of the country’s civilian population.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it would retaliate by striking American bases and power plants in countries that power “economic, industrial and energy infrastructures in which Americans have a stake.” Parliament Speaker Qalibaf said vital energy and water infrastructure in Persian Gulf countries could also become legitimate targets.

Trump’s words extending the deadline eased this tension somewhat, but it remained unclear what exactly happened in the negotiations between the two countries and their intermediaries on Monday.

Türkiye has acted as an intermediary between Tehran and Washington in the past, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he spoke by phone with his Turkish counterpart Hakan Fidan. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi also said on Monday that his country had conveyed “clear messages” to Iran about de-escalating the conflict.

But such mediation efforts are not what Trump claims.

Trump said Middle East special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner were involved in direct talks with their Iranian counterparts late Sunday and that the talks would continue on Monday.

Trump said negotiations were difficult because the United States had killed several Iranian leaders, including former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, but that his envoys had spoken to a “senior figure” who Trump believed was the “most respected” leader in the country.

However, he said that this person was not the Religious Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, who was named as his father’s successor. Trump said that the United States has not heard from young Khamenei, who has publicly declared his resistance against the United States and is not sure if he is alive.

Asked why Iran had refused if negotiations were actually taking place, Trump said the confusion on the Iranian side could be due to the leadership’s telecommunications networks being “shattered.”

“We’ve had very, very strong talks. We’ll see where they go. We have basic points of agreement – I would say almost all points of agreement,” Trump said.

He said the two sides agreed on 15 points, including that Iran will not possess or develop nuclear weapons in the future. He also said the United States would take the enriched uranium left over from Iran after it bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities last year, and that in the future the Strait of Hormuz could be kept “under joint control” by him and “whoever the ayatollah is.”

Trump added that if talks don’t make progress, “we’re going to keep bombing our little hearts.”

lingering fears

Trump’s pause in bombing energy infrastructure was welcomed around the world, as fears continued that the war would disrupt the flow of oil through the Bosphorus.

“Any attack on infrastructure causes chaos in the region and further escalates this war,” European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said at a press conference in Nigeria.

Fatih Birol, head of the International Energy Agency, told the Australian National Press Club on Monday that 40 energy assets in nine countries have already suffered “serious or very serious damage”. “As long as progress continues in this direction, no country will be immune from the effects of this crisis.”

Mirjana Spoljaric, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, said in her statement that “Deliberate attacks on basic services and civilian infrastructure may constitute war crimes.”

Trump said Israel would be “very happy” about the deal the US is working on with Iran because it would mean “long-term peace, guaranteed peace” for its US ally. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Trump told him that the United States had “a chance” of reaching an agreement with Iran based on meeting U.S. war objectives, but also said that Israel continued to strike targets in Iran and Lebanon and that “more is to come.”

Trump’s speech to end the war came at a time when US forces sent by the Pentagon to the region were also massed in the region. Three warships based in California About 2,500 sailors were sent to the Middle East, news outlets reported Friday. It was the second major deployment in a week and was sharply criticized by Democrats.

“More than 2,000 Marines from Camp Pendleton are now en route to the Middle East as the Iran war shows no signs of slowing down. Alarm bells should be ringing across America with the prospect of landing,” Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said in a statement Friday. “Every day increases the risk of a new forever war.”

Trump declined to talk about the Marine Corps deployment or intentions from California when asked about the Marine Corps on Monday.

“Do you really believe I’m going to give you an answer? Crazy question,” he said. “We don’t talk about strategy.”

Bulos from Beirut and Rector from Aspen, Colo.