March 23 (UPI) — President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States will postpone its military strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure amid talk of a resolution but Iranian state media denies such talks have taken place.
The president told CNBC’s Joe Kernen that the United States is “very intent on making a deal with Iran.” Earlier Monday he posted on social media that he will hold off on strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure for five days because the United States and Iran have had “very good and productive conversations” about a resolution to end hostilities in the Middle East.
Trump said the positive talks with Iran took place “over the last two days” following his threat to target Iran’s energy infrastructure on Friday.
“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,” Trump posted.
Iranian state media disputed Trump’s claim of conversations about a drawdown of fighting, citing an unnamed “senior security official.”
“There has been no negotiation and there is no negotiation and with this kind of psychological warfare, neither the Strait of Hormuz will return to its pre-war conditions nor will there be peace in the energy markets,” Iranian state media posted on Telegram, citing an unnamed source.
The unnamed source told the media outlet that Trump has backed down on his threat to target energy infrastructure. Trump had warned that he would target power plants and infrastructure if Iran did not fully open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours.
Transportation of oil on the Strait of Hormuz has largely halted since the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Iranian officials urged that they will continue to threaten vessels on the strait as long as hostilities continue, leveraging the economic impact of doing so.
The global oil market continues to respond to activity on the Strait of Hormuz and the ongoing war, with the price per barrel exceeding $100 at different points in the past week.
