The US is postponing strikes on Iranian power plants and energy for five days — but only if the current meetings and discussions are successful.
This was stated by the US President Donald Trump on Truth Social.
He also noted that over the past two days, the countries have held "very good and productive negotiations" on a full settlement of the conflict in the Middle East.
Updated at 15:30. Meanwhile, the Iranian state news agency Fars wrote that there were no negotiations between Iran and the US.
They called Trumpʼs words a "method of psychological warfare" and added that "neither the Strait of Hormuz will return to its pre-war state, nor will there be peace in the energy markets".
The media source added that in response to "Trumpʼs five-day ultimatum," Iran will continue its large-scale defense.
Two days earlier, Axios reported that the Trump administration had begun discussing a possible peace deal with Iran. Iranʼs demands included a ceasefire, guarantees that war would not resume in the future, and compensation.
In return, the US wants Iran to make 6 commitments:
- to abandon the missile program for five years;
- zero uranium enrichment;
- to decommission the nuclear facilities at Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow, which the US and Israel bombed last year;
- strict external control over the creation and use of nuclear centrifuges and related equipment;
- arms control agreements with countries in the region limiting missiles to 1 000 units;
- to stop funding proxy forces such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, or Hamas in Gaza.
War in the Middle East
On the morning of February 28, the United States and Israel launched attacks on Iran. These attacks killed Iranʼs Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and almost the entire military leadership of the country — about 40 key high-ranking officials. A new ayatollah was elected on March 8, and he was Mojtaba Khamenei (the son of the deceased Ali Khamenei).
Iran, in response to the US and Israeli attacks, has begun shelling US bases in Bahrain, Qatar, Kuwait and the UAE and firing missiles at Israel. Some Iranian drones and missiles have hit infrastructure and residential areas in Arab countries.
The war has halted tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow sea corridor between Iran and Oman that connects the Persian Gulf to the Indian Ocean. About a fifth of the worldʼs oil exports pass through it, tens of millions of barrels a day. Markets reacted immediately, sending oil, gas and precious metals soaring in price.
In particular, on March 9, world oil prices exceeded $100 per barrel for the first time in almost four years.
To keep prices down, the International Energy Agency has decided to release 400 million barrels of oil, and the US plans to release 172 million barrels of oil from its strategic reserve. On March 12, the US lifted sanctions on the purchase of Russian oil that was stuck at sea for 30 days, and a week later it gave permission for Iranian oil.
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