U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he had given instructions to postpone any military strikes against Iranian power plants for five days, just hours ahead of a deadline that threatened further escalation in the conflict now in its fourth week.
Trump’s move followed a threat by Iran to attack Israel’s power plants and those supplying US bases across the Gulf region if the US targets Iran’s power network.
Conversations with Iran will continue throughout the week, Trump said in a social media post.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that the US and Iran have had “VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE” conversations with Iran over the past two days about a “COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST.”
In his message, written entirely in capital letters, Trump wrote: “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.”
