US President Donald Trump said on Monday (Mar 23) the United States and Iran had held “very good” talks towards ending the three-week Middle East war, putting threatened US attacks on Iran’s power plants on hold in a stunning about-turn.
In a social media post that immediately sent oil prices tumbling, Trump said Washington and Tehran had held “productive conversations” over the last two days towards “a complete and total resolution” of hostilities in the Middle East.
In Iran, media outlets quoted the foreign ministry denying any such talks and suggesting Trump was angling to bring down energy prices sent soaring by the war – with no mention of his claim on state television’s latest news bulletin.
But Trump asserted that he had told the Pentagon, on the basis of talks to date, 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”.
He said the US-Iranian sides would keep talking “throughout the week.”
The bombshell announcement came ahead of a Monday night ultimatum for the Islamic Republic to reopen the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane – or see Trump “obliterate” its power plants.
In response, Iran had threatened to deploy naval mines in the Gulf and target power plants across the region – ramping up its rhetoric after warnings that the world faced an energy crisis of historic proportions if the US-Israeli war with Iran drags on.
On Monday, Israel’s military said it was working to intercept a new salvo of missiles from Iran – while confirming its own artillery fire had killed an Israeli civilian a day earlier near the Lebanese border.
In Iran, at least 3,230 people have died in the war, including 1,406 civilians, according to the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. AFP is not able to access the sites of strikes nor independently verify tolls in Iran.
LEBANON GROUND CAMPAIGN
Weighing in before Trump’s announcement, China’s foreign ministry warned of an “uncontrollable situation” should the war expand further.
Key Iran ally Russia, meanwhile, called after Trump’s announcement for an “immediate cessation of hostilities”.
In a call with Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi, Russia’s Sergei Lavrov called for “a political settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of all parties involved, above all Iran”, the Russian foreign ministry said.
The US president had offered varying timelines and objectives for the war, saying Friday he was considering “winding down” the operation, only to later threaten Iran’s power plants, of which it has more than 90.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has meanwhile spoken of a long-term campaign against Iran’s government, a state sponsor of Hamas, which launched the Oct 7, 2023 attack triggering the Gaza war.
Israel has also expanded its ground campaign against Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, warning of “weeks of fighting” in the country.
The violence in Lebanon has killed more than 1,000 people and displaced more than a million, according to the health ministry.
Source: AFP/co/dc /Al Jazeera/ TAS/PARS
