US President Donald Trump said Monday the US was talking with a “respected” Iranian leader and claimed the country was eager for a deal to end the war. He also extended a deadline for Iran to reopen the crucial Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on its power plants, saying it has an additional five days.
Trump’s turnaround, which held out the possibility of resolving the war now in its fourth week, served to drive down oil prices and jolt stocks. It offered a reprieve after the US and Iran traded threats over the weekend that could have cut electricity to millions in Iran and around the Gulf, and knocked out desalination plants providing many desert nations with drinking water.
Trump told reporters Iran wants “to make a deal,” and claimed US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner had held talks with an Iranian leader on Sunday. He did not say who that was, but said the US has not talked to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.
Iran denied talks had been held. “No negotiations have been held with the US,” Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf posted on X, adding that “fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets.”
Negotiations underway
Trump said if a deal is reached, the US would move to take Iran’s enriched uranium, which is critical to its disputed nuclear program. Iran has adamantly refused such demands in the past, insisting it has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.
Türkiye and Egypt meanwhile said they had spoken to the warring parties, the first sign of coordinated mediation from regional heavyweights.
The war launched by the United States and Israel has killed more than 2,000 people, shaken the global economy, sent oil prices surging, and endangered some of the world’s busiest air corridors.
Trump threatened over the weekend to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants unless the country releases its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all traded oil passes, within 48 hours. That deadline would have expired late Monday Washington time.
The extension by five days was “subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions,” Trump said. In Tehran, the state-owned IRAN newspaper suggested Trump's comments were “part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time to implement his military plans.”
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said he spoke by phone with his Turkish counterpart, Hakan Fidan. Türkiye has been an intermediary in past talks between Tehran and Washington.
Türkiye’s Foreign Ministry declined to comment Monday on whether the country had relayed messages between Iran and the US. On Sunday, Turkish officials said Fidan had also spoken to his counterparts from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Egypt, and the European Union, as well as with US officials as part of efforts to end the war.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi said Cairo has delivered “clear messages” to Iran focusing on de-escalating the conflict, according to his office. Egypt's Foreign Ministry said it was making “constant efforts and communications” with all parties.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer indicated he was aware of talks between Iran and the US.
“We, the UK, were aware that was happening,” he said Monday, without giving further details.
Iran threatened retaliation
Iran’s paramilitary Revolutionary Guard had promised retaliation if Trump carried out his threat, saying Iran would hit power plants in all areas supplying electricity to American bases, “as well as the economic, industrial and energy infrastructures in which Americans have shares.”
Qalibaf, the parliament speaker, said earlier that Iran would consider vital infrastructure across the region to be legitimate targets.
Iran’s semiofficial Fars news agency, which is close to the Revolutionary Guard, published a list of such facilities. Over the weekend, Iran launched missiles targeting the city of Dimona in Israel, near a facility key to its long-suspected atomic weapons program. The facility wasn’t damaged.
Iran says Trump backed down
In the wake of Trump's turnaround, Fars and the Tasnim news agencies portrayed the American president as backing down.
“Since the start of the war, messages have been sent to Tehran by some mediators, but Iran’s clear response has been that it will continue its defense until the required level of deterrence is achieved,” Tasnim said. “With this kind of psychological warfare, neither the Strait of Hormuz will return to prewar conditions nor will calm return to energy markets.”
With the US deploying more amphibious assault ships and additional Marines to the Middle East, Iran's Defense Council warned against any ground attack, saying it would “lead to the mining of all access routes.”
Trump has said he has no plans to send ground forces into Iran but has not ruled it out. Israel has suggested its ground forces could take part in the war.
Oil prices drop after Trump announcement
Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has wreaked havoc on energy markets and pushed up consumer prices well beyond the Middle East.
Oil prices were stubbornly high in early trading Monday, but plunged after Trump's announcement.
Jorge Moreira da Silva, a senior United Nations official, said the world has already seen a ripple effect, including “exponential price hikes in oil, fuel and gas” that impact millions, primarily in Asian and African developing countries.
