Trump Delays Strikes on 400 Iranian Power Plants Citing Progress in Nuclear Negotiations

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Monday a five-day postponement of planned military strikes against approximately 400 Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure facilities, citing progress in diplomatic talks he described as "very good and productive." Trump made the announcement on his Truth Social platform and elaborated on it in remarks to journalists at Palm Beach airport before departing for Memphis, as well as in separate telephone interviews with Fox Business and CNBC. The postponement came roughly half a day before a 48-hour ultimatum was set to expire — an ultimatum Trump had issued on Saturday demanding that Iran fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping or face destruction of its energy grid. Trump told reporters he would bet on the success of the talks, though he stopped short of guaranteeing an outcome, and warned that bombings would resume if no agreement is reached.

Witkoff and Kushner led Sunday talks, Trump says Trump said the negotiations were conducted on Sunday by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, and that further telephone talks were planned for Monday, to be followed shortly by a direct meeting. „They are being conducted by Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner. They went, I would say, perfectly. I would say that if they carry this out, they will end this problem, this conflict and I think they will end it very, very significantly.” (They are being conducted by Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner. They went, I would say, perfectly. I would say that if they carry this out, they will end this problem, this conflict and I think they will end it very, very significantly.) — Donald Trump via wnp.pl Trump declined to identify the Iranian negotiator, describing the counterpart only as a "top person" and explicitly stating it was not Iran's new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei. Trump expressed uncertainty about Khamenei's status, saying the U.S. does not know whether he is even alive, while adding that he does not want him killed. The U.S. demands, as stated by Trump, include zero uranium enrichment, the removal of enriched uranium stockpiles — which he referred to as "nuclear dust" — and a future arrangement for joint U.S.-Iranian control of the Strait of Hormuz. Trump also described the situation in Iran as an "automatic regime change," noting that many figures from the previous leadership had been killed.

The U.S.-Israel military campaign against Iran, designated Operation Epic Fury, began on February 28, 2026. Ali Khamenei, who had served as Iran's Supreme Leader since 1989, was killed in the initial strikes. His son Mojtaba Khamenei was appointed as the third Supreme Leader of Iran in March 2026. Iran had blocked the Strait of Hormuz in the early days of the conflict, cutting off a waterway through which, according to source articles, roughly one-fifth of the world's crude oil and liquefied gas had previously flowed.

Tehran denies talks, threatens to mine the Persian Gulf Iranian state-affiliated agencies Fars and Tasnim flatly denied that any direct or indirect talks with the United States were taking place, with a senior Iranian security official telling Tasnim: „No negotiations have taken place and none are underway.” — unnamed Iranian security official via Tasnim, cited in TVN24 Iranian sources suggested Trump postponed the strikes not because of diplomatic progress but because he fears Tehran would retaliate by attacking energy infrastructure across western Asia. Iran's Defense Council warned on Monday that any U.S. attempt to land forces on the Iranian coast or islands would trigger the mining of all routes in the Persian Gulf and along the coastlines. The IRGC separately threatened that if the U.S. attacks Iranian energy infrastructure, Tehran will strike power plants supplying electricity to American bases in the region, as well as economic, industrial, and energy infrastructure in which Americans hold interests. The speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammed Bager Kalibaf, stated that in the event of an attack, Iran would consider key infrastructure throughout the region — including water desalination facilities — to be legitimate targets. Former Iranian parliamentarian Ali Motahari suggested Trump's ultimatum may have been a pretext to justify seizing Iranian islands, including the strategically important Khark island, through which, according to the article, 90 percent of Iranian oil exports pass.

Key events in the US-Iran standoff: — ; — ; — ; —

Oman mediates, oil prices drop sharply on the news Shortly before Trump published his Truth Social post, Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi — who had mediated between Washington and Tehran before the war — wrote on platform X that Oman is "intensively working on implementing solutions ensuring safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz." Trump's postponement announcement triggered an immediate reaction in energy markets: the price of Brent crude dropped within minutes from 108 to 96 dollars per barrel, according to Gazeta Prawna, though it later partially rebounded. 400 (facilities) — Iranian power plants reportedly in US strike plans UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had previously warned that strikes on civilian power infrastructure could constitute war crimes, and Trump himself had earlier acknowledged that such attacks would complicate post-war reconstruction. Opposition activist Masih Alinejad, one of the most prominent voices among the Iranian exile community, appealed to Trump on Sunday to cancel the strike plans, arguing they would harm ordinary Iranians without toppling the regime. As recently as Sunday, U.S. Ambassador to the UN Michael Waltz had maintained the administration's strike threats, not ruling out attacks even on the Bushehr nuclear power plant, underscoring the abruptness of Monday's reversal.

2026-03-23T00:00: 108, 2026-03-23T12:00: 96