Washington, United States. U.S. President Donald Trump said he had instructed the defense department to postpone any military strikes against Iranian power plants for five days, hours ahead of a deadline that had threatened further escalation in a conflict now in its fourth week.
Trump cites talks with Iran
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the U.S. and Iran have had “VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE” conversations over the past two days about what he called a “COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST.” In the message, written entirely in capital letters, he said he had ordered the postponement pending the outcome of current talks.
Deadline tied to Strait of Hormuz warning
On Saturday, Trump warned that Iranian power plants would be destroyed if Tehran failed to “fully open” the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping within 48 hours, setting a deadline of around 7:44 p.m. EDT (2344 GMT) on Monday.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards issue retaliation threat
Trump’s comments prompted threats of retaliation from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, which said in a statement on Monday they would attack Israel’s power plants and those supplying U.S. bases across the Gulf region if Trump followed through with his threat to “obliterate” Iran’s power network.
Oil price reaction and broader impact
Brent crude was down around 7% near $104 at 1127 GMT. More than 2,000 people have been killed in the war the U.S. and Israel launched on February 28, which has upended markets, driven up fuel costs, fuelled global inflation fears and convulsed the postwar Western alliance.
Concerns over regional infrastructure
The threat of strikes on Gulf electricity grids raised fears of mass disruption to desalination for drinking water and further rattled oil markets.
How do you think the postponement could affect the risk of further escalation in the conflict?
