United States President Donald Trump has directed the postponement of any military strikes against Iranian power plants for five days.
Trump announced this via a post on Truth Social on Monday, March 23, 2026.
The post comes just hours ahead of a deadline that threatened further escalation in the Middle East conflict now in its fourth week.
Trump noted that the U.S. and Iran have had “very good and productive” conversations with Iran over the past two days about a “complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East.”
In his message, written entirely in capital letters, he said he had instructed the defence department to postpone the strikes pending the outcome of current talks.
Trump noted: “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.
“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!”
On Saturday, Trump had warned that Iranian power plants would be destroyed if Tehran failed to “fully open” the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping within 48 hours. Trump set a deadline of around 7:44 p.m. (2344 GMT) on Monday.
His comments sparked threats of retaliation from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, which said in a statement on Monday they would attack Israel’s power plants and those supplying U.S. bases across the Gulf region if Trump followed through with his threat to “obliterate” Iran’s power network.
The threat of strikes on Gulf electricity grids raised fears of mass disruption to desalination plants for drinking water, and further rattled oil markets.
Credit: The Star
