Reuters - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday he had given orders to postpone any military strikes against Iranian power plants for five days, hours ahead of a deadline that threatened further escalation in the conflict now in its fourth week.
Trump added in a post on his Truth Social platform that the U.S. and Iran had had "VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE" conversations over the past two days about a "COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST".
A reporter for the U.S. news outlet Axios said Turkey, Egypt and Pakistan had met White House envoy Steve Witkoff and, separately, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The reporter, Barak Ravid, cited an unnamed U.S. source as saying the discussion was about ending the war and resolving all outstanding issues.
Araghchi's ministry said there were "initiatives" to reduce tensions, the Mehr news agency reported, adding that Tehran wanted Washington, as the party that began the war, to be a direct participant.
The White House did not respond to questions about the content of the talks, who participated or where they were held.
OIL DROPS, STOCKS RECOVER ON TRUMP COMMENTS
In his message, written entirely in capital letters, Trump said he had instructed the defense department to postpone the strikes pending the outcome of the talks. He also told Fox Business Network that Iran wanted badly to make a deal, which could come inside five days.
A source briefed on Israel's war plans said Washington had kept it informed of its talks with Tehran, and that Israel was likely to follow Washington in suspending any targeting of Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure.
The Israeli prime minister's office did not immediately respond to a request for comment on talks with Iran or Washington's decision to suspend strikes on some Iranian targets.
Trump's comments briefly sent the price of the Brent crude oil benchmark down around 13% to back below $100 a barrel. By 1245 GMT, it stood around $101.80.
