US President Donald Trump said he is withholding any strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for five days after having “very good and productive” talks with Tehran over the past two days on ending their conflict.
“Based on the tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed, and constructive conversations, witch [sic] 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,” he said in a social media post on March 23, adding the halt was subject to the success of the talks.
There had been no announcement that talks between Washington and Tehran were being held and no details of the weekend talks the president mentioned were given.
The Fars News Agency, which is close to the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), cited sources as saying “there is no direct communication with Trump, nor through intermediaries.”
There was no immediate public comment from Israel, which said just after Trump’s announcement that it was conducting air strikes on central Iran.
Strait Of Hormuz Deadline
Trump’s announcement comes as a deadline he set looms for Iran to open the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Trump had given Tehran until 7:44 p.m. Washington time on March 23 to “fully open” the key waterway, which handles about 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies, or face dire consequences, including the obliteration of Iran’s power plants.
That warning came a day after Trump had said he was considering “winding down” military operations with, he asserted, most US goals achieved. The Pentagon is also reportedly sending thousands of additional ground forces to the region.
There was no immediate reaction from Tehran but Iran earlier had vowed to retaliate if Trump should carry out his threat on power plants.
Iran’s military command was quoted by state media as saying that if Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure is attacked, all energy infrastructure belonging to the United States in the region will be targeted. Iran also said desalination facilities will be struck.
Separately, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, warned that “immediately after the targeting of power plants and infrastructure in our country, vital infrastructure and energy and oil infrastructure throughout the region will be considered legitimate targets and will be irreversibly destroyed.”
According to the HRANA Iranian human rights group, more than 3,000 people have been killed in the war since the United States and Israel launched strikes on February 28.
The conflict has upended energy and stock markets, driven up fuel costs, fueled global inflation fears and rocked the Middle East and the West, with concerns the fighting will spillover and engulf the region.
The threat of strikes on Gulf electricity grids raised fears of mass disruption to desalination for drinking water and further rattled oil markets. The price of the Brent crude oil benchmark was down around 7 percent near $104 a barrel just after midday on March 23.
