‘Progress is being made at a good pace’ with Iran, according to Trump

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US President Donald Trump told AFP on Monday that “things are going very well” regarding Iran, shortly after announcing talks with Tehran and a five-day pause on targeting the Islamic republic’s power plants.

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Trump’s abrupt shift on Iran came hours before the expiration of a two-day ultimatum under which he threatened to attack Iranian power plants if Tehran did not reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz.

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“Things are going very well,” Trump said in brief comments by telephone to AFP when asked about Iran, following his earlier Truth Social post on the negotiations that immediately sent oil prices tumbling.

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In his post, Trump made the surprise announcement, backed by little detail, that diplomacy was underway. This came after he earlier shunned talks with Tehran in the fourth week of the joint US-Israeli military campaign.

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Trump said in the post that Tehran and Washington “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.”

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“Based on the tenor and tone” of the talks, “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,” Trump wrote.

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The US president did not give further details on the talks in his comments to AFP, which he made from his Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, where he spent the weekend.

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– Iran denies talks –

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Iranian media however said on Monday that there were no negotiations underway towards ending the war.

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“There are no talks between Tehran and Washington,” said Mehr news agency citing Iran’s foreign ministry, adding that Trump’s statements were part of a push “to reduce energy prices”.

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Trump’s post came just hours before Wall Street was set to open after brutal selloffs on European and Asian markets and a further climb in the price of oil.

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The oil price has posed an increasing political headache for Trump as Americans complain of higher prices at the pump, ahead of crucial midterm elections in November that will determine the make-up of Congress.

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On Friday, Trump had said that he was considering “winding down” the war, leaving the responsibility for keeping the strait open to so far-reluctant NATO allies.

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But on Saturday Trump then issued a deadline of 2344 GMT Monday — early Tuesday in Tehran — for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow passageway into the Gulf through which one-fifth of the world’s oil transits.

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Iran had partly closed the strait as part of its retaliation for US and Israeli attacks launched on February 28 that have killed top officials including the cleric-run nation’s longtime supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamanei.

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Iran had remained defiant and threatened that if Trump went ahead it would target vital infrastructure across the Gulf including energy sites and desalination plants critical in the parched region.

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