US President Donald Trump said on 23 March that over the last two days Iran and the United States have had “very productive coversation regarding a complete and hotal resolution of hostilities in the Middle East.”
“I am please(d) 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,” President Trump said in a post on social media.
The latest hint at a breakthrough comes over three weeks after the US-Israel strikes on Iran unleashed conflict in the Middle East. Iran's top leadership, including its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, were assasinated in the strikes.
View full Image View full Image The latest hint at a breakthrough comes over three weeks after the US-Israel strikes on Iran unleashed conflict in the Middle East. Iran's top leadership, including its Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, were assasinated in the strikes.
Iran retaliated with strikes against its oil-exporting Muslim nation in its neighbourhood. The conflict also affected the movement of vessels through the Strait of Hormuz, a key channel that carries around a fifth of the world's oil supply, disrupting trade. The heightened tensions in West Asia led to disruptions in critical maritime corridors.
Earlier, Iran’s National Defence Council said any attempt to attack the Iranian coast or Islands will cause “all communication lines in the Persian Gulf to be mined” as the deadline imposed by US President Donald Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz expired on Monday.
Department of War to postpone strikes on Iran: Trump 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," President Trump said.
This instruction, Donald Trump said, depends on the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.
The announcement by Donald Trump came as both sides showed no signs of de-escalation till recently. However, Donald Trump had recently expressed a willingness to engage in talks with Tehran. “Nobody wants to be a leader over there anymore. We’re having a hard time. We want to talk to them, and there’s nobody to talk to… And you know what? We like it that way,” President Trump said on Friday.
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A Bloomberg report published before Trump's latest Truth Social post cited a person with direct, high-level contacts in Tehran, who said the officials there were not willing to discuss reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a key maritime trade route that controls a large chunk of the world's oil trade.
Iran fires long-range missiles Earlier, Israeli officials said Iran had fired long-range missiles for the first time since the current escalation began on 28 February, raising fears that the conflict could extend beyond West Asia.
Israeli military chief Eyal Zamir said Iran launched two ballistic missiles with a range of about 4,000 kilometres towards the US-UK military base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean.