Trump: Deal with Iran to end war close, Israel will be happy !!!!
In a bombshell announcement, US President Donald Trump revealed early Monday that his administration was engaged in productive talks with Iran regarding a “complete and total resolution” of the US-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic.
He later said the sides were close to an agreement under which Iran would agree not to seek nuclear weapons and would give up enrichment, and that the terms would make Israel “very happy.”
Iran denied talks were taking place, despite reports of indirect negotiations between the parties.
Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made no initial response but five hours later issued a video in which he said he had spoken to Trump earlier in the day, and that the US president “believes that there is a chance to leverage the massive achievements of the IDF and the US military in order to achieve the goals of the war through an agreement — an agreement that protects our vital interests.”
Trump’s initial statement, made on social media, came nearly two days after he had threatened to bomb Iran’s power plants unless it opened the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. On Monday, Trump said he had postponed those strikes for five days to allow for more negotiations.
“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,” Trump wrote in an all-caps Truth Social post.
“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,” he added
In a subsequent interview with CNBC, he called the discussions “very intense” and described them as a “great meeting, great conversations.” He also claimed that “this is regime change,” pointing to the number of Iranian leaders who had been killed.
However, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said after Trump’s post that there was no direct communication with the US or communication through intermediaries. Citing an unnamed source, Fars said Trump had retreated from his threat after hearing that Iran would respond by attacking all power plants in the region.
Iran’s foreign ministry said later on Monday that although the foreign minister had received messages through “friendly countries” about a request from the US for talks, none had taken place since the start of the war.
“Over the past few days, messages were received through some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war,” said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, according to the official IRNA news agency.
However, he “denied any negotiations or talks with the United States during the past 24 days of the imposed war.”
Asked by reporters about Iran’s denial before boarding Air Force One, Trump suggested that perhaps those involved in the “productive” talks were unable to contact others in the regime because “the communication, as you know, has been blown to pieces. They’re unable to talk to each other.”
He told reporters that there were “major points of agreement” with Iran on “almost all points,” as Tehran wants “very much to make a deal.”
Trump said his top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner participated in the talks on behalf of the US, insisting that they went “perfectly” and that they took place Sunday and went into the evening.
He confirmed that the talks would continue on Monday, and estimated that if they continued to progress, a deal could be struck in the coming days.
He added, though, that if progress would be deemed insufficient by the end of the five-day grace period, the US would “just keep bombing our little hearts out.”
Asked who was leading the talks on the Iranian side, Trump said only that the US was “dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader.”
The younger Khamenei has not been seen since the start of the war on February 28, and the only statements attributed to him since his appointment as supreme leader have been read out on television by news presenters.
“We have not heard from the son,” Trump confirmed. “We don’t know if he’s living.”
Although Trump declined to provide a name, Israeli officials told Hebrew-language media that the US was holding negotiations with Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.
Qalibaf, a close friend of slain IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, has been involved in the violent suppression of protests and has emerged as a leading wartime decision-maker as top Iranian officials have been methodically taken out in the Israeli-US campaign.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that the US had requested an in-person meeting with Qalibaf, but did not mention any proposed venue.
The official, who asked not to be identified due to the sensitivity of the matter, said the Supreme National Security Council had yet to decide on any proposed talks and Iran had yet to respond.
Qalibaf, for his part, issued a firm denial of the existence of any talks after his name began circulating in connection with them.
“No negotiations have been held with the US,” he wrote on X.”Fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped.”
Israel, which has been attacking Iranian regime targets alongside the US since February 28, had no immediate reaction to the announcement, and Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Around the same time as Trump’s announcement, a video of Netanyahu circulated in Israeli media in which he made no mention of the US president, but claimed that Jerusalem was working to bring both Israel and Iran to “places [they] have never been,” and asserted the Jewish state’s advantage over Tehran.
In the Hebrew-language video, Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Boaz Bismuth could be seen telling Netanyahu, “I’m hearing that the Iranians want to close the matter… There must not be a bad agreement [with them],” reminding the premier of his past efforts to block undesirable nuclear deals between Washington and Tehran.
It was unclear if the video was filmed before or after Trump’s announcement.
Asked again about the uranium stockpile, Trump said that if there is an agreement, “We’re going down and we’ll take it ourselves.”
“If this happens, it’s a great start for Iran to build itself back,” he asserted. “It’s also great for Israel, and it’s great for the other Middle Eastern countries,” he said, listing Saudi Arabia, UAE, Qatar, Kuwait and Bahrain.
He said the US had spoken recently with Israel about the latest developments, and insisted that Jerusalem will be “very happy.”
“This will be peace for Israel. Long-term peace, guaranteed peace — if this happens. And I can’t guarantee it, but… I think this is something that’s going to happen,” he said.
“They called,” he said of Iran. “I didn’t call. They called. They want to make a deal. We are very willing to make a deal. It’s got to be a good deal. And it’s got to be no more wars, no more nuclear weapons. They’re not going to have nuclear weapons anymore. They’re agreeing to that.”
Iran “wanted to take over the Middle East and they wanted to knock out Israel permanently,” he added. “If they had a nuclear weapon, they would have been able to… They would have had a nuclear weapon within two weeks to a month” if they had not been hit.
“We have a very serious chance of making a deal,” he insisted. “We are in the throes of a real possibility of making a deal… but again I’m not guaranteeing anything.”
Previously, in response to Trump’s threats, Iran had said it would target energy infrastructure around the region. Those threats raised fears of mass disruption to desalination for drinking water, and further rattled oil markets.
As for who would control it once it finally reopens, Trump paused to think about his answer before declaring that it would be “jointly controlled.”
“Maybe [by] me and the ayatollah — whoever the ayatollah is,” he said.
He also took the opportunity to justify his decision to wave sanctions on Iranian oil, despite the criticism he has leveled at previous presidents for offering Tehran similar relief.
“I just want to have as much oil in the system as possible, and we don’t even know if Iran gets that money,” Trump said of what is expected to amount to $14 billion entering Iran’s coffers.
“You have ships that are out there loaded up with oil. Rather than keep them there, I would rather see [the oil] go to the system,” Trump continued. “Any small amount of money that Iran gets is not going to have any difference in this war, but I want to have the system be lubricated.”
“The price of oil will drop like a rock as soon as a deal is done,” he declared, noting that prices have already dropped since he announced the purportedly productive negotiations earlier today.
Oman’s foreign minister said, at nearly the same time as Trump’s initial post was published, that continuing the war would only cause more economic hardship, and that his country was “working intensively to put in place safe passage arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz.”
“Whatever your view of Iran, this war is not of their making,” wrote Badr Albusaidi on X. “This is already causing widespread economic problems and I fear they promise to get much worse if the war continues.”