Iran Denies Talks with U.S. after U.S. President Postpones Strikes on Power Grid

AFP

U.S. President Donald Trump.

Iran denied on Monday that it had engaged in negotiations with the United States, after President Donald Trump postponed a threat to bomb Iran's power grid because of what he described as productive talks with unidentified Iranian officials.

U.S. President Donald Trump has stated that the United States and Iran have engaged in highly productive discussions aimed at achieving a complete resolution to hostilities in the Middle East. He further confirmed that he had instructed the Department of War [Defence] to postpone any military action against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a period of five days.

"I am please 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," President Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

"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!" He added.

He later told reporters that his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had been negotiating with Iran before the war, had held discussions with a top Iranian official into the evening on Sunday, and would continue on Monday.

"We have had very, very strong talks. We'll see where they lead. We have major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement," he told reporters before departing Florida for Memphis.

In Memphis he said Washington had been negotiating with Iran "for a long time, and this time they mean business," adding: "I think it could very well end up being ⁠a good deal for everybody."

He did not identify the Iranian official in touch with Witkoff and Kushner, but said: "We're dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader."

"We're dealing with some people that I find to be very reasonable, very solid. The people within know who they are. They're very respected, and maybe one of them will be exactly what we're looking for." He said.

Iran's parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on X that there had been no such talks with the United States, and ridiculed the suggestion as an attempt to rig financial markets.

"No negotiations have been held with the U.S., and fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped," he wrote.

"Iranian people demand complete and remorseful punishment of the aggressors. All Iranian officials stand firmly behind their supreme leader and people until this goal is achieved." He added.

Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said they were launching fresh attacks on U.S. targets, and described Trump's words as "psychological operations" that were "worn out".

"The contradictory behavior of the U.S. president does not cause us any negligence on the war front or the continuation of the battle with the hostile enemy," the IRGC said in a statement.

A Pakistani official and a second source said talks on ending the war could be held in Pakistan as soon as this week, according to Reuters report.

The Pakistani official said U.S. Vice President JD Vance, as well as Witkoff and Kushner, were expected to meet Iranian officials in Islamabad. A second Pakistani official said Islamabad was relaying messages between the United States and Iran.

An Israeli official and two other sources familiar with the matter said the interlocutor on the Iranian side was Qalibaf, the parliament speaker, who has become increasingly influential, Reuters reported.

Iran had responded to President Trump's threats by saying it would hammer the infrastructure of U.S. allies in the Middle East, raising the prospect that an extreme disruption to global energy supplies could last longer than previously expected.

The respite sent the Brent crude oil benchmark tumbling around 8% to about $103 a barrel.

Iran has effectively closed the key Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas flows. President Trump ⁠has demanded Iran open the strait, but Tehran says it will not do so until the United States and Israel call off their attacks.

Source: Reuters



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