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President Donald Trump connected Monday (March 23, 2026) hailed “very good” talks with an unidentified Iranian authoritative aft abruptly shelving plans for caller attacks, adjacent arsenic Washington’s state Israel vowed to support up strikes connected the Islamic republic.
The astonishment disclosure — denied by Tehran, which accused Mr. Trump of manipulating vigor markets — came up of a Monday (March 23, 2026) nighttime deadline imposed by Mr. Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane oregon spot the US “obliterate” its powerfulness plants.
Oil prices fell and banal markets jumped arsenic observers scrambled to construe Mr. Trump’s statements contempt the Iranian denial.
Axios, citing an unnamed Israeli official, identified Mr. Trump’s interlocutor arsenic Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s talker of parliament and 1 of its astir salient non-clerical figures.
The outlet and newswire Reuters reported U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner whitethorn conscionable an Iranian delegation for talks successful Pakistan arsenic soon arsenic this week, with Vice President J.D. Vance perchance joining.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt did not contradict the reports, saying “speculation astir meetings should not beryllium deemed arsenic last until they are formally announced by the White House.”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif connected Monday (March 23, 2026) said helium spoke with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, promising Islamabad’s assistance bringing bid to the region.
But Mr. Ghalibaf said connected X that “no negotiations” were underway, insisting Mr. Trump was seeking “to manipulate the fiscal and lipid markets.”
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said messages were received from “some affable countries indicating a U.S. petition for negotiations aimed astatine ending the war”, but denied immoderate specified talks had taken place, Iran’s authoritative IRNA bureau reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said helium had spoken to Mr. Trump and acknowledged the United States thought a woody was possible, but vowed to proceed striking Iran and Lebanon to support Israel.
“Trump believes determination is simply a accidental to leverage the tremendous achievements of the IDF and the US military... successful an agreement,” helium said.
“At the aforesaid time, we proceed to onslaught some successful Iran and successful Lebanon.”
‘Trump blinked’
On a time of whiplash developments, Iran’s neighbours breathed a suspiration of alleviation aft Mr. Trump stepped backmost from his menace to people Iranian powerfulness infrastructure.
Tehran had vowed to deploy naval mines and people powerfulness and h2o infrastructure crossed the portion successful retaliation, threatening to escalate an vigor situation of already historical proportions.
“Trump blinked archetypal — retired of a wide knowing that striking Iran’s vigor infrastructure would trigger a nonstop and important retaliation,” Danny Citrinowicz, a information expert and erstwhile Israeli quality Iran expert, wrote connected X.
Mr. Trump said his medication was holding talks with an unidentified “top person,” but not the country’s ultimate leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who is believed to beryllium injured.
He described the idiosyncratic arsenic “very reasonable,” portion informing if talks failed successful the adjacent 5 days, “we’ll conscionable support bombing our small hearts out.”
Thousands of U.S. Marines are headed to the Middle East, reinforcing America’s beingness amid play speculation that Mr. Trump was mulling crushed operations either to prehend Iranian lipid assets oregon to forcibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
‘Major threat’ to economy
Since the warfare erupted, Tehran has retaliated against U.S.-Israeli attacks by throttling postulation done the Strait, a conduit for one-fifth of planetary crude, and by hitting Gulf vigor sites and U.S. embassies arsenic good arsenic targets successful Israel.
International Energy Agency main Fatih Birol warned if the warfare is protracted, regular lipid losses would pave the mode for a situation worse than the combined interaction of some 1970s lipid shocks and Russia’s penetration of Ukraine.
Oil prices person been driven supra $100 a tube by the conflict, but they tumbled sharply aft Trump’s announcements, portion European stocks rebounded. Wall Street besides closed up.
International benchmark Brent crude plunged immoderate 10% to astir $100 per barrel.
Mr. Trump said determination were already “major points of agreement” with the Iranian negotiators.
U.S. conditions included Iran abandoning immoderate atomic ambitions and giving up its enriched uranium stockpiles, helium said.
Lebanon crushed campaign
Mr. Trump has offered shifting timelines and objectives for the war, saying connected Friday (March 20, 2026) helium was considering “winding down” the cognition — lone to aboriginal endanger Iran’s powerfulness plants, of which it has much than 90.
Mr. Netanyahu has spoken of a semipermanent run against Iran’s government, a sponsor of Hamas, which launched the October 7, 2023 onslaught that triggered the Gaza war.
In Lebanon, Israel has expanded its crushed run against Iran-backed Hezbollah, informing of “weeks of fighting,” striking confederate Beirut again Monday and claiming to seizure 2 Hezbollah fighters.
Israel reported a caller question of missiles fired from Iran aboriginal Tuesday (March 24, 2026).
Israel’s attacks successful Lebanon person killed much than 1,000 radical and displaced much than a million, Lebanon’s Health Ministry said.
The warfare has killed astatine slightest 3,230 Iranians, including 1,406 civilians, according to the U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency. AFP cannot entree onslaught sites nor independently verify tolls successful Iran.
