Donald Trump has signalled a possible end to the war in the Middle East, revealing that the US had agreed to the “complete and total resolution of hostilities” with Iran.
The US President issued a statement declaring that he had engaged in “very good and productive conversations” with Iran over the past two days.
Just hours before Mr Trump’s declared deadline to obliterate Iran’s power plants if the Strait of Hormuz was not opened, he revealed the US would “postpone” planned military strikes on Tehran’s energy infrastructure for five days.
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This, Mr Trump said in his social post, would allow talks on ending the war to continue. The news prompted an immediate uptick in world markets.
“I am pleased 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,” he said in a statement posted to Truth Social on Monday night.
“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! President Donald J. Trump.”
It’s a dramatic step-down from the escalation of Epic Fury he had promised just 36 hours earlier, leaving the world on tender-hooks as the countdown ticked towards his Tuesday 8am AWST deadline.
Donald Trump posts to Truth Social. Credit: Unknown/Truth Social
“If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!” he posted on social media on Sunday.
The threat of Iranian attacks has kept most ships from getting through the narrow waterway that serves as the conduit for around a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, threatening a global energy shock.
This week, Mr Trump had accused NATO allies of cowardice over their reluctance to help open the strait.
He also called out Australia to “get involved”, adding he was “a little bit surprised that they said ‘no’ because we always say yes to them” in a conflict.
Other allies said they would consider it, but most said they were reluctant to join a war that Mr Trump started without consulting them.
Australia at the weekend joined 21 other countries in signing a joint commitment to safeguard oil tankers transiting the Strait of Hormuz.
The coalition of nations had expressed “readiness to contribute to appropriate efforts”, although the Australian government did not reveal what, if any, assets it would deploy to the critical trade waterway.
Just hours before Mr Trump hit pause on his obliteration plan, Russia said any US strikes on Iran’s Russia-built nuclear power plant could trigger “irreparable” consequences.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters the “catastrophically tense” situation could only be settled by political and diplomatic means.
Peskov warned any strikes on nuclear facilities would be “extremely dangerous and fraught with possibly irreparable consequences.”
Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya military command headquarters had said if the US attacked Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure, Iran would target all US energy, information technology and desalination infrastructure in the region.
The threats to billions of dollars worth of Gulf infrastructure came as the conflict entered dangerous new territory.
