Listen to this article:

New Delhi: Two days after claiming that “we”, meaning the United States, was getting “very close” to meeting its objectives in the Iran war, President Donald Trump on Monday, March 26, wrote in a message (in all-caps) on Truth Social:

I am please 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 [West Asia]. Based on the tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed, and constructive conversations, witch [sic] 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…

However, Iran’s Fars news agency, citing a source, said there were no direct or indirect communications with the US President despite Trump’s statement about talks with Tehran. Fars also said Trump backed down on targeting Iranian power plants after Iran warned it would target power plants across West Asia in response.

Translation: ‘Iranian source: There is no direct or indirect connection with Trump; he backed down after hearing that our targets would include all power plants in West Asia.’ (Screenshot from Fars News telegram channel, March 23.)

On Sunday (March 24), he announced that winding down of “our great military efforts in the Middle East [West Asia]” was being considered as the US was getting “very close” to obtaining its objectives.

He referred to Iran as a “terrorist” state in that post, and listed the objectives of the war, including completely degrading its missile capability, “destroying” Iran’s defence industrial base and ensuring Iran “never gets close to” nuclear capability.

Trump later reposted his Monday post calling off the strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure and power plants with corrections:

…Based on the tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed and constructive conversations, which will contiune 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. Thank you for your attention to this matter!

According to an AP newsbreak, Iranian state TV saw Trump’s statement as the US ‘backing down’:

Iranian state television offered Tehran’s first reaction to Trump’s decision to extend a deadline for reopening the Strait of Hormuz by five days.

The deadline should have been around 0000 GMT Tuesday. Instead, Trump on Monday said he extended it by five days.

Reacting to the news, Iranian state television said in a graphic on screen: “U.S. president backs down following Iran’s firm warning.”

The Iranian side had kept up the pressure and rhetoric in statements on Monday, with Fars reporting:

Pezeshkian: Iran to Confront Trump’s Threats on Battlefieldhttps://t.co/siF0bhbKju pic.twitter.com/VIhqr2aoEL — Fars News Agency (@EnglishFars) March 23, 2026

Pezeshkian: Iran to Confront Trump’s Threats on Battlefieldhttps://t.co/siF0bhbKju pic.twitter.com/VIhqr2aoEL

— Fars News Agency (@EnglishFars) March 23, 2026

Iranian officials had warned on Monday that the naval zone around the Persian Gulf would be mined in response to Trump’s efforts to send ground troops and warships to open the Strait of Hormuz.

But there remained uncertainty regarding the view on the Iranian side, with journalists such as Edward Luce pointing out there was no reaction from the country on Trump’s claims:

Strange situation where we await a statement from Iran to check whether there’s any truth to what US president is saying. — Edward Luce (@EdwardGLuce) March 23, 2026

Strange situation where we await a statement from Iran to check whether there’s any truth to what US president is saying.

— Edward Luce (@EdwardGLuce) March 23, 2026

Trump has been putting out a number of messages on Truth Social in the last 24 hours. In a post on the intervening night of Sunday, we wrote, in all-caps: “Peace through strength, to put it mildly!” The son of the deposed former Shah of Iran, Reza Pahlavi supported Trump in a post on Monday afternoon:

President Trump is right. This regime only understands strength. Its infrastructure of terror— its leadership, machinery, and facilities that harm Iranians and Americans— must be destroyed and the entire regime must go. When Iran is free, the world will have lasting peace. https://t.co/O2XxKsQ2g9 — Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) March 23, 2026

President Trump is right. This regime only understands strength. Its infrastructure of terror— its leadership, machinery, and facilities that harm Iranians and Americans— must be destroyed and the entire regime must go. When Iran is free, the world will have lasting peace. https://t.co/O2XxKsQ2g9

— Reza Pahlavi (@PahlaviReza) March 23, 2026

© The Wire