U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday said he would order the military to postpone strikes on Iran’s power plants and energy infrastructure for five days following “productive” dialogue regarding “total resolution” of hostilities in the Middle East.
Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform that the U.S. and Iran had “VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST.”
The U.S. president said these talks would continue through the week. Oil prices fell sharply on the news.
Speaking on a call with CNBC’s Joe Kernen on Monday morning, Trump said discussions with Iranian authorities had been very intense and that he remains hopeful something very substantive can be achieved.
The U.S. president also insisted on the same call that what is unfolding in Iran can be described as regime change, Kernen reported.
U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi (not pictured) in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, D.C., U.S., March 19, 2026.
Evelyn Hockstein | Reuters
Trump’s comments come shortly after he had given Iran 48 hours to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz.
The narrow waterway is a key maritime corridor that connects the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. Roughly 20% of global oil and gas typically passes through it.
Iran’s Parliament spokesperson Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf had said critical infrastructure and energy facilities in the Gulf region could be “irreversibly destroyed” should Iranian power plants be attacked.
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