In a bombshell announcement, US President Donald Trump revealed early Monday that his administration has been 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.

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.

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........

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