President Donald Trump has postponed threatened strikes on Iranian power plants as a result of the talks on the conflict in the Middle East.

In a post on social media, Trump noted that the United States of America and 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.”

He said that he will “postpone any and all strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure” for a five day period.

“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! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP”
Donald Trump

Trump gave Iran a 48-hour deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or the US would “obliterate” Iranian power plants, “starting with the biggest one first.”

Following Trump’s threat, the Iranian army said that it would target all energy infrastructure belonging to the US in the region if Iran’s fuel and energy infrastructure were attacked.

Ebrahim Zolfaghari, Spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya central command, said that Iran will also attack desalination plants and information technology infrastructure linked to the US and Israel.

Iran’s state media reported today that Iran’s Defense Council threatened to deploy mines to block the entire Persian Gulf if Iran’s coasts or islands are attacked. “The only way to pass through the Strait of Hormuz for non-belligerent countries is coordination with Iran,” the statement from the high-level security body said, according to the news agency.

The Defense Council reportedly said, “Any enemy attempt to attack Iranian coasts or islands” will lead to “all access routes and communication lines in the Persian Gulf and coasts being mined with various naval mines.” “The entire Persian Gulf will effectively be blocked, and the responsibility for this will lie with the threatener,” it added.

The warning comes after Iran’s military declared it would close the Strait of Hormuz and attack regional infrastructure if US President Donald Trump carries out a threat to bomb its power plants if the key waterway is not reopened by Monday evening.

Iran Denies Talks With US

However, Iran denied any dialogue with Washington, dismissing President Donald Trump’s claims as an attempt to lower energy prices and buy time for military plans. This is according to several Iranian state-affiliated media outlets reports citing the foreign ministry.

According to one news agency, the Foreign Ministry said that there are “initiatives” from regional countries to “reduce tensions.” It added, “Our response to all of them is clear: we are not the party that started this war, and all these requests should be referred to Washington.”

Meanwhile, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) appears to have rowed back on a threat to target desalination plants that provide drinking water to tens of millions of people across the Gulf states, while not explicitly taking the possibility of such strikes off the table.

It said in a statement posted on Telegram, “The lying, terrorist and child killing President of the US has claimed that the IRGC intends to target the region’s desalination plants and cause hardship for the people of the region,” adding that US strikes on Iran have hit “five water supply infrastructure systems.”

Using wording which does not rule out targeting these facilities at a later date in response to further US or Israeli strikes on its own infrastructure, it added, “The IRGC has not done such a thing so far.”

Earlier, an Iranian state-backed media outlet published the coordinates of 11 power plants and desalination facilities in the Gulf states and Jordan, noting that they “play a vital role in meeting the essential needs of the region’s population and industries.”

It added in a post on Telegram, “These infrastructures cover a large portion of the region’s energy production and freshwater supply capacity, with some ranking among the largest infrastructure projects in the world.”

Among the facilities featured on the list are the Karakah nuclear power plant in the United Arab Emirates, the only one of its kind in the Gulf Arab countries, and the Ras Al-Khair power and desalination plant in Saudi Arabia, which is the largest hybrid facility of this type in the world.