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President Trump has said he is “very intent on making a deal” with Iran, following a post on Truth Social in which he hailed ongoing peace talks and called off planned strikes against Iran’s power infrastructure.
Trump spoke to CNBC’s Joe Kernan shortly after the post and said he had “hopes within the next five days something substantive can be arrived at for the end of hostilities.”
President Trump also insisted that the goal of regime change had been achieved, because there has been a complete turnover of officials at the highest levels of the government and military.
In an all-caps post on Truth Social within the last hour, President Trump said he would call off all planned strikes against Iranian infrastructure, to allows talks, with the aim of bringing the conflict to an end, to continue.
“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 wrote.
“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. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!”
US stock futures rallied and oil prices fell sharply in response to the news.
Iranian state media, however, have countered claims of negotiations, saying neither direct nor indirect talks have been taking place.
An unnamed official was reported as saying, “There is been no negotiation and there is no negotiation, and with this kind of psychological warfare, neither the Strait of Hormuz will return to its pre-war conditions nor will there be peace in the energy markets.”
