New Delhi: Hours after declaring a five-day halt in American military strikes against energy infrastructure in Iran, US President Donald Trump said Monday that Washington and Tehran are in talks about ending the war, and there are “major points of agreement”.
He, however, said he hadn’t spoken to Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei yet.
Earlier in the day, Trump in a typo-ridden post on Truth Social declared that the US and Iran have over the last two days held “very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution” of hostilities.
He added that he has directed 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”.
But talking to reporters hours later, Trump clarified that he was speaking with a “respected leader” in Iran, not Mojtaba Khamenei. “We have major points of agreement and we both want to make a deal. We will likely talk today, possibly by phone. I hope to meet soon. We are dealing with a man who I believe is the most respected and the leader. It is not the Supreme Leader; nobody has heard from him, and we don’t know if he is living,” he said.
He then added: “We were expected to blow up their largest electric generating plants that cost over $10 billion to build. One shot—it’s gone. It collapses. Why would they want that? So they called. I didn’t call—they called. They want to make a deal.”
He also said that Iran had agreed not to begin their uranium enrichment process again. “We want the nuclear dust. We’re going to want that, and I think we’re going to get that. We’ve agreed to that—yeah, we’re going to; we’ve agreed to that,” Trump said.
Asked if Israel would abide by it, in his usual candour he added: “I think Israel will be very happy with what we have. I think they will be very happy.”
However, around the time Trump made his latest statement, Israel Defence Forces (IDF) announced that it was launching a fresh wave of strikes against Tehran.
Trump had earlier said that talks were held Sunday between between Washington and Tehran, adding that his West Asia envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were involved in the talks.
“I didn’t call, they (Iran) called—and they wanted to make a deal,” he added.
On its part, Iranian state-owned media rebutted Trump’s claims, maintaining that no talks were held between Tehran and Washington, portraying the US President’s comments as him having “backed down”.
Iran’s foreign ministry said Trump’s statements were “part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time to implement his military plans,” which could still involve a possible occupation or blockading of Iran’s strategically crucial Kharg Island.
On Saturday, Trump had threatened to bomb Iran’s power plants after 48 hours unless Tehran agreed to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the vital oil shipping route which Iran has effectively closed for US and allied vessels. In turn, Iran said it would “irreversibly destroy” essential infrastructure across the region, including vital water systems, if the US followed through on Trump’s threat. Iran’s defence council earlier Monday threatened to lay sea mines to block the entire Persian Gulf region if Iran’s coasts or islands were attacked.
Meanwhile, an Axios report said that Turkey, Egypt, and Pakistan were reportedly relaying messages between the US and Iran over the past two days to help de-escalate tensions.
Senior officials from the three countries held separate talks with Steve Witkoff and Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi, the report added.
The report also quoted an Israeli official as having said that the mediating countries were trying to convene a meeting in Islamabad possibly later this week, with Speaker of the Iranian Parliament Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf representing Tehran and Witkoff, Kushner and possibly Vice President J.D. Vance representing the US.
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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