President Donald Trump says he has ordered the United States military to postpone strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days after holding “good and productive conversations” with Tehran.
“I am pleased to report that the United States of America, and the country of Iran, have had, over the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East,” Trump posted on Monday in all caps on his Truth Social platform.
Recommended Stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
“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.”
The latest announcement will be seen as a big relief in the region, which has been bearing the brunt of Iranian attacks, and across the world as the war on Iran has caused a global energy crisis and sent oil prices soaring.
In an effort to lower energy prices, Trump on Saturday gave Tehran 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all vessels, warning that otherwise the US would “obliterate” Iran’s power plants. Trump’s ultimatum was aimed at ending Tehran’s chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies pass.
Al Jazeera’s Osama Bin Javaid said that with his announcement, Trump may have opened a potential off-ramp on the war on Iran.
“This is the breaking news that everybody in the region and beyond has been waiting for … that Donald Trump, who declared this war unilaterally without legal backing, can end it unilaterally without any preconditions,” he added.
Reporting from Washington DC, Al Jazeera’s Alan Fisher said that it seems Trump might be looking for an off-ramp. “He has set a five day deadline, we will see where the talks go at that point. But remember, Donald Trump’s deadline tend to be elastic, they have been in the past and it could well be, come Friday, there won’t be a resolution to this question.”
Analyst Mohamad Elmasry of the Doha Institute for Graduate Studies said Trump’s announcement may be “his way of sort of giving himself a dignified exit”.
“But the question that people need to ask is what the Iranians are going to do and what the Israelis are going to do and to what extent might they be willing to continue the war effort against Iran without US backing if that’s what ends up happening here.”
Trump told the Fox Business Network that Iran wants to make a deal badly and it could happen within five days. He said his envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were engaged in talks most recently on Sunday night.
Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Mohamed Vall said the Iranians will possibly climb down despite the three weeks of war. “The likelihood that they will refuse this offer from Trump is remote,” he said.
“The Iranians do not want to continue this war. They say it was imposed on them and the region.
“They have said that if there are guarantees and further negotiations take place and if there is no repeat of the same type of aggression or any kind of aggression against Iran in the future and if there is a willingness to find a lasting deal, then I am sure the Iranians will not say no.”
‘Initiative’ by countries in Middle East
Iran has not commented yet. But its Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement carried by the semiofficial Mehr news agency that Trump’s move is aimed at reducing energy prices and providing time to implement his military plans.
It added that there are “initiatives” by countries in the region to reduce tensions but their concerns should be referred to Washington, “the party that started this war”.
Tehran denied there was a dialogue between Tehran and Washington.
Iran has said that if Trump carries out his threat to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants, it would completely shut down the strait in retaliation. Tehran also pledged to attack energy facilities in Israel and Gulf countries.
Iran’s de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz has caused a spike in global oil prices and a shortage of cooking gas in Asian countries. Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, on Monday warned that the situation in the Middle East is “very severe” and is worse than the two energy crises of the 1970s and the fallout of the Ukraine war put together.
On Monday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responded that if Washington went ahead with Trump’s threat, Iran would target power plants in all regions that supply electricity to US bases “as well as the economic, industrial and energy infrastructures in which Americans have shares”.
In addition, the country’s Defence Council warned that any attack on Iran’s southern coast or islands would prompt the laying of sea mines that would sever Gulf shipping routes, according to state media.
Al Jazeera’s Bin Javaid, citing conversations with diplomats, said that even during the Eid holiday, “multiple countries at different levels have been holding conversations with embassies or directly with the White House.”
“People have told us they have been telling Trump that this process of escalation does not bode well for Iran or for Israel,” he reported.
Leave a Reply