Trump delays strikes on Iran’s power plants for five days as talks advance
Trump has delayed threatened strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days, saying talks with Iran on ending hostilities in the Middle East are making progress.
On Monday (March 23), US President Donald Trump said in a post on Truth Social at about 6.15pm Thailand time that the United States and Iran had held very good and productive talks over the past two days on reaching a complete resolution to hostilities in the Middle East.
He said the discussions would continue throughout the week.
Based on the tone of those in-depth, detailed and constructive talks, Trump said he had instructed the US military to postpone any and all strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a period of five days, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.
Foreign media had earlier reported that Trump said Washington and Tehran were discussing a “complete and total resolution” of hostilities in the Middle East, and that the threatened attack on Iranian power plants had been pushed back as a result of those talks.
The development came after Trump said on Saturday night that Iran had 48 hours to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, warning that otherwise the United States would obliterate Iranian power plants, beginning with the largest facility.
Financial markets reversed course after Trump said the United States and Iran had held very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.
Brent crude fell 13% to about US$96 a barrel, while the FTSE 100 rose 0.5% after earlier dropping more than 2%. Gas prices fell from 159 pence a therm to about 139 pence.
The yield on 10-year UK government bonds, which had earlier climbed to 5.121%, has now fallen to 4.89%, below its level at the start of the day.
