In a bombshell announcement, US President Donald Trump revealed early Monday that his administration has been engaged in productive talks with Iran regarding a “complete and total resolution” of the US-Israeli war with the Islamic Republic.

He later said the sides were close to an agreement under which Iran would agree not to seek nuclear weapons and would give up enrichment, and that the terms would make Israel “very happy.”

Iran denied talks were taking place, despite reports of indirect negotiations between the parties.

Trump’s initial statement, made on social media, came nearly two days after he had threatened to bomb Iran’s power plants unless it opened the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours. On Monday, Trump said he had postponed those strikes for five days to allow for more negotiations.

“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 an all-caps Truth Social post.

“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 added.

In a subsequent interview with CNBC, he called the discussions “very intense” and described them as a “great meeting, great conversations.” He also claimed that “this is regime change,” pointing to the number of Iranian leaders who had been killed.

However, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency said after Trump’s post that there was no direct communication with the US or communication through intermediaries. Citing an unnamed source, Fars said Trump had retreated from his threat after hearing that Iran would respond by attacking all power plants in the region.

Asked by reporters about Iran’s denial before boarding Air Force One, Trump suggested that perhaps those involved in the “productive” talks were unable to contact others in the regime because “the communication, as you know, has been blown to pieces. They’re unable to talk to each other.”

He told reporters that there were “major points of agreement” with Iran on “almost all points,” as Tehran wants “very much to make a deal.”

Trump said his top envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner participated in the talks on behalf of the US, insisting that they went “perfectly” and that they took place Sunday and went into the evening.

He confirmed that the talks would continue on Monday, and estimated that if they continued to progress, a deal could be struck in the coming days.

He added, though, that if progress would be deemed insufficient by the end of the five-day grace period, the US would “just keep bombing our little hearts out.”

Asked who was leading the talks on the Iranian side, Trump said only that the US was “dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader.”

He declined to identify the figure in question, but confirmed it was not Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who is believed to have been injured in the war’s opening strike that killed his father and was subsequently selected to replace him.

The younger Khamenei has not been seen since the start of the war on February 28, and the only statements attributed to him since his appointment as supreme leader have been read out on television by news presenters.

“We have not heard from the son,” Trump confirmed. “We don’t know if he’s living.”

Although Trump declined to provide a name, Israeli officials told Hebrew-language media that the US was holding negotiations with Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf.

Qalibaf, a close friend of slain IRGC Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani, has been involved in the violent suppression of protests and has emerged as a leading wartime decision-maker as top Iranian officials have been methodically taken out in the Israeli-US campaign.

Israel, which has been attacking Iranian regime targets alongside the US since February 28, had no immediate reaction to the announcement, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Shortly after Trump’s announcement, however, Netanyahu released a Hebrew-language video in which he made no mention of the US president, but claimed that Jerusalem was working to bring both Israel and Iran to “places [they] have never been,” and asserted the Jewish state’s advantage over Tehran.

In the video, Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee chairman MK Boaz Bismuth could be seen telling Netanyahu, “I’m hearing that the Iranians want to close the matter…there must not be a bad agreement [with them],” reminding the premier of his past efforts to block undesirable nuclear deals between Washington and Tehran.

It was unclear if the video was filmed before or after Trump’s announcement.

ביסמוט לנתניהו, היום בכנסת: שומע שהאירנים רוצים לסגור את העניין – אסור שיהיה הסכם רע????זירה פוליטית‼️ pic.twitter.com/jD28ExukdF — ???? זירה פוליטית‼ (@Zira_politit) March 23, 2026

ביסמוט לנתניהו, היום בכנסת: שומע שהאירנים רוצים לסגור את העניין – אסור שיהיה הסכם רע????זירה פוליטית‼️ pic.twitter.com/jD28ExukdF

— ???? זירה פוליטית‼ (@Zira_politit) March 23, 2026

A source briefed on Israel’s war plans told Reuters that Washington had kept it informed of its talks with Tehran, and that Israel was likely to follow Washington in suspending any targeting of Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure.

But shortly after the post went up, the Israel Defense Forces announced that the Air Force had launched a new wave of strikes in Tehran targeting Iranian regime infrastructure sites.

Backing up Trump’s account, Axios and Channel 12 reported that Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey had been working desperately to buy time before Trump’s ultimatum expired.

On Sunday, their foreign ministers spoke with Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and, separately, with Witkoff, the reports said. They reportedly discussed not only seeking a solution regarding the Strait of Hormuz, but also ending the war.

“The mediation is ongoing and making progress,” a source familiar with the talks told Axios. “The discussion is about ending the war and resolving all outstanding issues. We hope to have answers soon.”

Trump, pressed by reporters on the supposed points of agreement from negotiations with Iran, claimed that Tehran had agreed not to obtain a nuclear weapon — something the Islamic Republic has long insisted it does not want — and that it had agreed not to enrich any uranium, which Iran has long insisted is its right.

“We want to see no nuclear bomb, no nuclear weapon, no nuclear missiles, we want to see peace in the Middle East, we want the nuclear dust,” he said, apparently referring to Iran’s stockpile of highly-enriched uranium. He then claimed Iran had agreed to hand that over as well.

Asked again about the uranium stockpile, Trump said that if there is an agreement, “We’re going down and we’ll take it ourselves.”

“If this happens, it’s a great start for Iran to build itself back,” he asserted. “It’s also great for Israel, and it’s great for the other Middle Eastern countries.”

He said the US had spoken recently with Israel about the latest developments, and insisted that Jerusalem will be “very happy.”

“This will be peace for Israel. Long-term peace, guaranteed peace — if this happens. And I can’t guarantee it, but… I think this is something that’s going to happen,” he said.

Previously, in response to Trump’s threats, Iran had said it would target energy infrastructure around the region. Those threats raised fears of mass disruption to desalination for drinking water, and further rattled oil markets.

While attacks on electricity infrastructure could hurt Iran, they could be catastrophic for its Gulf neighbors, which consume around five times as much power per capita. Iran has also repeatedly attacked countries across the Gulf with missile and drone strikes throughout the war.

Against that backdrop, countries in the Middle East and beyond welcomed news of the talks. The price of oil plummeted, reflecting the prospect that the Strait of Hormuz, a key artery for the world’s petroleum supply, would reopen.

The price of the Brent crude oil benchmark briefly slid 13%, putting it back below $100 a barrel, but it quickly rose again to around $101.8.

Oman’s foreign minister said, at nearly the same time as Trump’s post was published, that continuing the war would only cause more economic hardship, and that his country was “working intensively to put in place safe passage arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz.”

“Whatever your view of Iran, this war is not of their making,” wrote Badr Albusaidi on X. “This is already causing widespread economic problems and I fear they promise to get much worse if the war continues.”

Also following Trump’s post, Araghchi held a call with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov, who called for an “immediate cessation of hostilities and a political settlement that takes into account the legitimate interests of all parties involved, above all Iran,” the Russian foreign ministry said in a readout of the call, which it said was initiated by Tehran.

The Kremlin later said that it was monitoring what it described as “contradictory” statements regarding the situation in Iran, but expressed hope that the conflict would soon be resolved.

Agencies and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.

Are you relying on The Times of Israel for accurate and timely coverage of the Iran war right now? If so, please join The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6/month, you will:

Support our independent journalists who are working around the clock under difficult conditions to cover this conflict;

Read ToI with a clear, ads-free experience on our site, apps and emails; and

Gain access to exclusive content shared only with the ToI Community, including weekly letters from founding editor David Horovitz.

We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.

You clearly find our careful reporting of the Iran war valuable, at a time when facts are often distorted and news coverage often lacks context.

Your support is essential to continue our work. We want to continue delivering the professional journalism you value, even as the demands on our newsroom have grown dramatically during this ongoing conflict.

So today, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. For as little as $6 a month you'll become our partners while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.

Thank you,David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel

1 Inside storyGulf states opposed war with Iran. Most are now pushing to keep the fight going

2 Israeli, US researchers find brain’s signals that make OCD behaviors hard to stop

3 Paleolithic chic: 500,000 years ago, Israel’s ancient toolmakers had a taste for sparkle

4 US said planning weeks-long operation to reopen Hormuz Strait; IDF strikes Tehran overnight

5 Trump’s shifting Strait of Hormuz strategies raise questions about US war preparation

6 Netanyahu said frustrated that Mossad promise it could instigate Iran uprising has fallen short

7 Reporter's notebookAfter a night of destruction, residents of Arad and Dimona begin picking up the pieces

8 Israel blows up bridge allegedly used by Hezbollah to move troops into south Lebanon

2026 US-Israel war with Iran

US-Iran nuclear talks

Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf

© The Times of Israel