U.S. President Donald Trump on Monday ordered a five-day pause on military strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure following what he said were “very good and productive” talks with Tehran. Trump in a post on his Truth Social platform said he had instructed the Department of Defense to postpone “any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure” while negotiations continue this week, adding that the freeze is contingent on “the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.” The recent talks were “in depth, detailed, and constructive,” he wrote, suggesting they could lead to a “complete and total resolution” of the conflict with the Islamic regime.
Earlier on Monday, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned in a statement reported by Iranian state media that if the country’s electricity sector is attacked, it will target Israel’s power plants as well as those of other countries in the region. “We are determined to respond to any threat at the same level as it creates in terms of deterrence. ... If you hit electricity, we hit electricity,” Reuters cited the IRGC as saying. Trump late on Saturday evening U.S. Eastern time issued an ultimatum to Tehran, saying that if it did not open the Strait of Hormuz to shipping within 48 hours, Iran’s energy infrastructure would be destroyed. According to The New York Times, the Islamic Republic vowed to keep the Strait “completely closed” if its vital energy sources were stuck.
Power outages were reported by residents in large parts in Tehran on Monday morning after a wave of air raids struck targets across the city the previous night, the Times reported. The Israel Defense Forces stated in the early morning hours of Monday that it had launched a large wave of airstrikes against infrastructure of the “Iranian terrorist regime in Tehran.” It did not specify which sites were targeted. (Ed note: So what about the Strait of Hormuz, or is Trump again just being played?) (Source)
