“The United States and Iran have had very good and productive conversations over the past two days about a complete and total end to our hostilities in the Middle East,” Trump wrote.
“Based on these in-depth, detailed and constructive talks, which will continue throughout the week, I have directed the Department of War to postpone for five days all military strikes against Iran’s power plants and energy infrastructure, depending on the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions,” added the head of the White House.
The market reaction to Trump’s announcement was swift. Oil prices erased their initial growth and then fell sharply, Reuters reported. Brent North Sea oil weakened by up to 15 percent and fell to 96 dollars per barrel. American light oil WTI lost 13.5 percent and traded below the threshold of 86 dollars per barrel. At the same time, the price of Brent was still above the level of 114 dollars per barrel in the morning.
However, the Iranian media quickly rejected Trump’s claim about ongoing talks between Washington and Tehran. “The Iranian source said there was no contact with Trump – either direct or indirect – and added that Trump backed down after being warned that (retaliatory) targets would include power plants across West Asia,” state-run Iranian Press TV reported on the X network. “Trump backed down again!” then reported on Trump’s announcement on the postponement of attacks on Iranian power plants. According to the Al Jazeera station, other Iranian agencies Tasním and Fars also reacted. The Iranian embassy in Afghanistan wrote that Trump backed down after a “stern warning”.
It was perhaps Trump’s most conciliatory statement towards Iran since the American-Israeli attacks began at the end of February, noted BBC commentator Bernd Debusmann, but according to him, it leaves a number of questions unanswered. “Although he mentioned very good and productive talks with Iran, the Iranians have not yet confirmed this, and this statement is in sharp contrast to the aggressive tone the warring parties took over the weekend. Moreover, it is unclear what exactly these talks were supposed to focus on,” he added.
Earlier during the current war, Trump informed that Iran was asking for negotiations with the US, but the representatives of Tehran resolutely refused even then, and mutual attacks continued with undiminished intensity.
