Trump Pauses Iran Strikes for 5 Days, Claims Productive Talks But Tehran Says It's Retreat Under Pressure

United States President Donald Trump has said that he would postpone threatened strikes on Iran’s power plants and energy infrastructure for five days. He claimed “very good and productive conversations” were underway toward “a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East” but Iranian officials have publicly denied any negotiations and described the move as a retreat under pressure.

File Photo Via: StandUpForTrmp

In a statement posted on Truth Social, Trump said that “based on the tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed, and constructive conversations, which will continue throughout the week,” he had “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.” 

He later told reporters that Iran wants “to make a deal,” and claimed U.S. envoys, including Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, had held talks with a “respected” Iranian leader, though he did not identify any official interlocutor and confirmed there had been no contact with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.

Tehran, however, rejected the claim outright. An informed Iranian security source told Tasnim News Agency that “no negotiations are ongoing or have taken place,” asserting that Trump had “backed off his threat to target Iran’s vital infrastructure after the Islamic Republic’s fierce response.” 

The source cited in Tasnim's report added that “pressures from financial markets and threats to bonds within the U.S. and the West” had contributed to the shift, while warning that “neither the Strait of Hormuz will revert to pre-war conditions, nor will there be stability in energy markets.”

The pause comes after a sharp escalation cycle in which Trump had warned that the U.S. would “obliterate” Iran’s power plants if the Strait of Hormuz was not reopened within 48 hours, even as he earlier claimed Washington was “very close” to achieving its war objectives and simultaneously issued time-bound sanctions waivers to prevent energy market disruption. That sequence — military threats, economic stabilisation measures, and now a temporary pause tied to claimed talks — reflects a rapidly shifting U.S. posture as the conflict enters its fourth week.

On the ground, the war continues to exact a heavy toll. The conflict, which has already killed more than 2,000 people, has seen strikes on energy infrastructure, shipping disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz, and attacks affecting civilian areas and critical facilities across the region. 

The latest U.S. threat to target power plants had raised fears of cascading humanitarian consequences, including electricity outages and disruption of desalination systems vital for drinking water in Gulf countries.

UPDATE: In a further escalation of rhetoric after Trump’s announcement, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said “Iranian people demand complete and remorseful punishment of the aggressors,” adding that “all Iranian officials stand firmly behind their supreme leader and people until this goal is achieved,” while also rejecting any diplomatic engagement, stating that “no negotiations have been held with the US” and accusing Washington of spreading “fakenews… to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped.”

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