US President Donald Trump on Monday said negotiations with Iran to end joint US-Israeli strikes were progressing, but warned that the country’s crucial energy infrastructure would be destroyed if talks do not soon bear fruit.
“If for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our lovely ‘stay’ in Iran by blowing up and completely obliterating all of their Electric Generating Plants, Oil Wells and Kharg Island (and possibly all desalinisation plants!),” Trump posted on his social media platform Truth Social.
Despite the warning, he said “serious discussions” were ongoing with a “new and more reasonable” Iranian regime.
Iran said Monday it has held no direct negotiations with the US, saying recent contacts were limited to messages conveyed through intermediaries. Regional countries have sought to broker an agreement between the sides, with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar signalling Islamabad would be willing to host talks.
On Sunday, Trump had encouraged diplomatic efforts, with intermediaries including Pakistan, Türkiye, and Egypt involved in indirect contacts between Washington and Tehran. He said indirect talks via Pakistani “emissaries” were progressing, adding: “A deal could be made fairly quickly.”
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Many senior Iranian officials are among the 1 340 people killed in the air offensive the US and Israel launched against Iran on February 28, including then-Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. A US missile fired at a girls primary school killed a further 170, mostly school girls.
Tehran has retaliated with drone and missile strikes targetting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting US military assets, causing casualties and infrastructure damage while disrupting global markets and aviation.