Trump delays some US strikes in Iran for 5 days amid new round of talks

John T. Bennett, CQ-Roll Call on Mar 23, 2026

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WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump announced Monday morning that he had ordered the U.S. military to delay strikes on some Iranian infrastructure targets for five days while his team negotiates with Tehran.

After posting critical statements about the new Iranian government on his Truth Social platform over the weekend, Trump said Monday that the U.S. and Iran have had “productive” negotiations. Stock markets rebounded and oil prices by the barrel dropped almost immediately after his Truth Social post went live shortly after 7 a.m. Eastern.

“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 all capital letters.

“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 said.

Trump’s announcement came after Iranian officials earlier Monday threatened to strike electricity plants across the Middle East and pepper the Persian Gulf with mines after Trump said Sunday he would order the U.S. military to hit similar sites inside Iran if its government did not fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

The waterway’s closure has sent global energy prices soaring during the war’s first three weeks, with insurers leery to back oil tankers and other vessels due to the Iranian mine threat.

Iran continued to pound targets across the Middle East all weekend, despite Trump telling reporters Friday that Iran was “finished” militarily.

On Friday, Trump contended that the United States and Israel had “won” the military fight with Iran — but again stopped short of declaring victory.

“We’ve knocked out everything. We’re roaming free,” he said. “From a military standpoint, all they’re doing is clogging up the strait. But from a military standpoint, they’re finished.”

But Iran’s foreign minister signaled in an X post over the weekend that the Islamic Republic was dug in for a long fight.

“Our ancient civilization has three millennia of history of defending Iranians and the region from outsiders,” Abbas Araghchi wrote Saturday. “We are now writing a new chapter in that story.”

Trump on Friday called reopening the Strait of Hormuz a “simple military maneuver,” contending that it was “relatively safe.”

“But you need a lot of help in the sense you need ships. You need volume,” he told reporters. “And NATO could help us, but so far, they haven’t had the courage to do so. … At a certain point, it’ll open itself.”

In a Truth Social post hours later, Trump said the strait “will have to be guarded and policed, as necessary, by other Nations who use it,” while adding that the U.S. would “help” those countries in their efforts if asked.

Iranian officials reportedly have been in back-channel talks with Turkish officials about a possible path to ending the war with the United States and Israel.