Trump declares 5-day ‘ceasefire,’ after purported talks with Iran; it is a lie, there are no talks, says Iran
US President Donald Trump said Monday that he had ordered a halt to his threatened strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure after “very good and productive talks” with Tehran, and that negotiations are set to continue this week.
The United States and 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,” Trump wrote, in all capitals, early Monday on his Truth Social platform.
“Based on the tenor and tone” of the talks, “witch (sic) 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,” he added.
Trump announced “major combat operations” against Iran on February 28, with massive joint U.S.-Israeli strikes attack targeting military and government sites, officials said.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Iranian Supreme Leader, was among those killed in Tehran on the first day of strikes, with his son Mojtaba Khamenei later chosen to succeed him. Iran has responded with missile and drone attacks targeting Israel, regional U.S. bases and multiple Gulf nations. Iran is also attempting to block some shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
Israel is also intensifying its long-running strike campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia in Lebanon and expanding its ground operations in the south of the country.
Trump details US-Iran talks, says Iran agreed to not have nuclear weapon
Trump talked about the ongoing negotiations with Iran during a lengthy gaggle on the tarmac in Palm Beach, Florida, on Monday.
He said that Iran and the U.S. had many points of agreement in the current talks, which he previously said had been happening for two days – and he said that Iran agreed to never have a nuclear weapon.
Trump said talks would continue over the next few days. He said Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner have been involved in those talks.
“We have had very, very strong talks. We’ll see where they lead. But we have point — major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement, perhaps that hasn’t been conveyed,” Trump said. “The communication, as you know, has been blown to pieces. They’re unable to talk to each other. But we’ve had very strong talks. Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner had them. They went, I would say, perfectly. I would say that if they carry through with that, it’ll end that — that problem, that conflict, and I think it’ll end it very, very substantially.”
When pressed about who they are speaking with in Iran, Trump said, “a top person.”
“Don’t forget, we’ve wiped out the leadership phase one, phase two and largely phase three. But we’re dealing with a man who I believe is the most respected and the leader,” Trump said.
Trump said he is not talking to the new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
It is a lie, says Iranian foreign ministry: There are no talks
Meanwhile, Iran’s semi-official Mehr News Agency quoted the Foreign Ministry in Tehran as denying President Donald Trump’s claim of talks between Washington and Tehran.
Trump, the ministry said, aims to buy time for U.S. military plans and reduce energy prices, Mehr reported.
“There are initiatives by regional countries to de-escalate tensions, and our response to all of them is clear: We are not the party that started this war, and all these requests should be referred to Washington,” the statement said.
