WASHINGTON, March 23 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said there have been talks between the United States and Iran over the past day in which the two sides had “major points of agreement”, adding that a deal could be done soon to settle the war.
Trump said his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and close aide and son-in-law Jared Kushner talked to the Iranians on Sunday and that discussions would continue today.
“We have had very, very strong talks. We’ll see where they lead. We have points, major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement … we’ve had very strong talks, Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner had them,” Trump said.
“All I’m saying is, we are in the throes of a real possibility of making a deal,” he told reporters before departing Florida for Memphis.
He declined to say who the United States was speaking with in Iran but said it was not Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei. Trump said Iran “had some leaders left.”
“We’re dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader,” Trump said.
Iran’s Fars news agency, citing a source, said there are no direct or indirect communications with the United States.
Earlier on Monday Trump backed down on a threat to target Iran’s power network, saying he would postpone any strikes on power plants and energy infrastructure.
The reaction from markets was swift and marked: Brent crude oil futures fell sharply, the dollar fell against other major currencies, stock markets rallied and government borrowing costs fell back.
Trump’s statement on Monday came after Iran threatened to attack Israel’s power plants and those supplying U.S. bases across the Gulf region if the U.S. targets Iran’s power network.
On Saturday, Trump warned that Iranian power plants would be destroyed if Tehran failed to “fully open” the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping within 48 hours. Trump set a deadline of around 7:44 p.m. EDT (2344 GMT) on Monday.
Iranian attacks have effectively closed the Strait, which carries a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas.
(Reporting by Humeyra Pamuk, Steve Holland, Doina Chiacu, Susan Heavey and Gram Slattery; Editing by Toby Chopra and Michelle Nichols )
Disclaimer: This report is auto generated from the Reuters news service. ThePrint holds no responsibility for its content.