Iran has taunted Donald Trump after he claimed the US was halting strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure following what he called ‘very good’ peace talks with Tehran.
An Iranian official told Fars News Agency, which is aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, that there is ‘no direct or indirect contact with Trump’.
The unnamed source said Trump backed down after ‘hearing that our targets would include all power stations in West Asia.’
Iranian Major General Abdollahi said: ‘The use of a new, secret weapon will begin soon and it will bring an end to the enemy’s operations.’
The taunts came just minutes after Trump claimed the two countries had held ‘productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities.’
Markets lurched on Trump’s announcement, initially surging before pulling back. Brent crude, the global oil benchmark, swung from $92 a barrel to as high as $103 in chaotic trading.
The Dow swung 700 points before the opening bell and was last up around 1.4 percent.
Trump said he had ordered the Pentagon ‘to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure’ for five days, speaking to Fox Business and CNBC on Monday morning as he sought to soothe markets.
Trump speaks to the press before his departs the White House en route Miami, Florida on March 20
Smoke and flames rise at the site of airstrikes on an oil depot in Tehran on March 7
An explosion erupts following strikes near Azadi Tower close to Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran on March 7
Closing the Strait of Hormuz has proven relatively inexpensive for the regime, relying on drones and explosive suicide boats to disrupt global shipping
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu, accompanied by Dimona Mayor, Benny Biton, speak to media while visiting the area destroyed by an Iranian ballistic missile last night, leaving over 50 wounded residents on March 22
He warned that the cessation of the strikes was ‘subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.’
Trump’s ceasefire announcement comes after he threatened over the weekend to bomb Iran’s electricity grid unless the regime reopened the Strait of Hormuz with 48 hours.
Iran responded by ignoring Trump’s deadline, vowing to strike water and energy facilities in the Middle East.
Trump had downplayed any sense of ongoing diplomacy with Tehran amid the secret peace talks this weekend.
Iranian authorities also warned they would deploy naval mines across the Gulf on Monday if the US attempted to invade its coastline or islands.
Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz since the start of the war has caused a global oil and energy crisis.
Gas prices have surged to an average of $4.00 a gallon nationwide up from $2.90 before the conflict began three weeks ago.
The narrow strait – through which a fifth of the world’s oil flows – remains blocked by the threat of Iranian mines and missiles.
An Iranian official told Fars News Agency, which is aligned with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, that there is ‘no direct or indirect contact with Trump’
Gas prices have surged to an average of $4.00 a gallon nationwide up from $2.90 before the conflict began three weeks ago
Trump previously threatened to use US troops to seize the small, rocky Kharg Island located in the Persian Gulf, where 90% of Iran’s crude oil exports
Tehran has not promised to reopen the passageway. Iran’s stranglehold over the strait is seen as its greatest leverage over the US in the ongoing conflict.
It remains unclear what Trump’s ceasefire framework will cover or whether Israel will feature in the discussions.
US and Iranian diplomats have previously clashed over the regime’s ballistic missile and nuclear enrichment programs, as well as their current defense stockpiles.
The Daily Mail has contacted the White House for comment.
