President Trump on Monday called off his threat of US strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure, withdrawing an ultimatum he issued over the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
The vital shipping lane, which usually carries around a fifth of global oil supply, has been under an effective blockade for weeks, with Tehran threatening to attack commercial vessels in the area, sending oil prices spiralling.
Posting on his Truth Social platform on Saturday, Trump wrote: "If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!"
That deadline was due to run out at 11.44pm GMT last night but, in the afternoon, Trump backtracked, announcing that there would be no strikes on power plants for at least five days.
The president said the decision was based on "very good and productive conversations" between Washington and Tehran "regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East".
"Based on the tenor and tone of these in-depth, detailed, and constructive conversations, which will continue throughout the week, I have instructed 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," he concluded.
Trump subsequently claimed that his team was holding discussions with "the most respected" leader in Iran, which had yielded "major points of agreement" on "almost all points".
Channel 12's Amit Segal has since reported that this was a reference to Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran's parliament, and not Mojtaba Khamenei, who replaced his father as the country's supreme leader but has not been seen since the start of the war.
Ghalibaf and Iran's foreign ministry have denied that any such negotiations took place, accusing the president of trying to "manipulate" financial markets with "fake news" after the war prompted a spike in oil prices and instability on stock markets.
Nonetheless, Trump claimed that Tehran has agreed to halt its programme of uranium enrichment, to rule out the prospect of developing a nuclear bomb and to hand over its stockpile of 60 per cent enriched material.
"We want to see no nuclear bomb, no nuclear weapon, no nuclear missiles, we want to see peace in the Middle East, we want the nuclear dust," he said.
"If this happens, it’s a great start for Iran to build itself back. It’s also great for Israel, and it’s great for the other Middle Eastern countries," he went on, adding that Israel would be "very happy" with the prospective deal.
"This will be peace for Israel. Long-term peace, guaranteed peace — if this happens. And I can’t guarantee it, but… I think this is something that’s going to happen."
For his part, Prime Minister Netanyahu threw his weight behind such a deal, saying: "[President Trump] believes that there is a chance to leverage the massive achievements of the IDF and the US military in order to achieve the goals of the war through an agreement — an agreement that protects our vital interests.
"We are crushing the missile program and the nuclear program, and continuing to strike Hezbollah hard."
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