President Donald Trump speaks with reporters before departing on Marine One from the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, March 20, 2026, in Washington. Donald Trump has called off his strikes on Iran’s energy sites for the next five days.
The US president said the US and Iran have had “very good and productive conversations” regarding a “complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East”.
He added, “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”, depending on the success of ongoing discussions.
Trump had claimed only over the weekend that Iran had just 48 hours to open the major oil shipping lane, the Strait of Hormuz, or the US would “obliterate” its power plants.
That escalation came hours after two Iranian missiles struck southern Israel, injuring more than 100 people on Sunday.
His bizarre warning meant Iran had only until 11.44pm (GMT) tonight to respond.
Iran had threatened to “completely destroy” key military sites across the region in retaliation.
Here’s the president’s TruthSocial post in full:
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. BASED ON THE TENOR AND TONE OF THESE IN DEPTH, DETAILED, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, WITCH 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. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER!
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