What you need to know
Thank you for joining our continuing live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
- US President Donald Trump postponed threatened strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure for five days, pending the outcome of what he said were “productive” talks with Iran.
- Trump said Iran wanted to “make a deal” and the US was also willing. He said his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner had been holding talks with a “respected” Iranian leader, and the two sides had reached “major points of agreement”.
- The Strait of Hormuz would be “opened very soon” if the talks were successful, and the price of oil “will drop like a rock as soon as a deal is done”, Trump added.
- However, Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, denied there had been any negotiations with the US and said it was “fake news” to manipulate financial and oil markets.
- In Australia, states are insisting the Albanese government take on a national leadership role managing the prospect of emergency measures to cut demand for oil, fearing any piecemeal state-by-state approach would create COVID-era confusion and anxiety.
‘This time, they mean business’: Trump on Iran talks
US President Donald Trump has visited Memphis, where he gave another update on the war with Iran and reiterated that he had directed the postponement of planned strikes on major energy targets.
“My whole life has been a negotiation but with Iran, we’ve been negotiating a long time,” Trump says. “This time, they mean business.”
He added: “They want to settle, and we’re going to get it done, I hope.”
Trump said there had been “very good discussions” and there was a “very good chance” of a deal this week with Iran.
“We’re giving it five days, and then we’re going to see where that takes us. And I would say at the end of this period, I think it could very well end up being a very good deal for everybody,” he said.
“As good as if we went all the way and literally annihilated the place, which, if we don’t have to do that, that would be a good thing, not a bad thing.”
‘Fake news’: Iran’s parliament speaker denies negotiations with US
Iran’s parliament speaker has denied there have been any negotiations with the US.
“No negotiations have been held with the US,” Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf wrote on X.
“Fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped.”
AP
Strait of Hormuz will reopen ‘very soon’ if talks work, oil price will ‘drop like a rock’: Trump
The Strait of Hormuz will be “opened very soon” if the talks with Iran work, US President Donald Trump said, adding that it would be “jointly controlled” although he did not give a clear answer on by who exactly.
“Maybe me. Maybe me. Me and the Ayatollah, whoever the Ayatollah is, whoever the next Ayatollah,” Trump said.
He added: “The price of oil will drop like a rock as soon as a deal is done.”
Iranian attacks have effectively closed the Strait, which carries a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas.
with AP
Both sides want to ‘make a deal’: Trump
US President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters in Palm Beach after his social media post about postponing strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure, said Iran wanted to “make a deal”.
“We’d like to make a deal too,” he said.
He claimed the US could have blown up Iran’s largest electric generating plants in “one shot”.
“Why would they want that? So they called, I didn’t call. They called. They want to make a deal, and we are very willing to make a deal,” Trump said.
“It’s got to be a good deal, and it’s got to be no more wars, no more nuclear weapons. They’re not going to have nuclear weapons anymore. They’re agreeing to that. Any of that stuff, there is no deal.”
Trump postpones strikes on Iranian power plants
US President Donald Trump postponed threatened strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure and power plants for five days, pending the outcome of what he said were “productive” talks with Iran.
In a post on Truth Social early on Monday Washington time (Monday night AEDT), Trump said the US 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”.
“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.”
Trump had given the regime a 48-hour deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, which was due to expire shortly before 11am Tuesday AEDT.
What you need to know
Thank you for joining our continuing live coverage of the conflict in the Middle East.
Here’s a recap of the latest developments:
- US President Donald Trump postponed threatened strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure for five days, pending the outcome of what he said were “productive” talks with Iran.
- Trump said Iran wanted to “make a deal” and the US was also willing. He said his Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner had been holding talks with a “respected” Iranian leader, and the two sides had reached “major points of agreement”.
- The Strait of Hormuz would be “opened very soon” if the talks were successful, and the price of oil “will drop like a rock as soon as a deal is done”, Trump added.
- However, Iran’s parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, denied there had been any negotiations with the US and said it was “fake news” to manipulate financial and oil markets.
- In Australia, states are insisting the Albanese government take on a national leadership role managing the prospect of emergency measures to cut demand for oil, fearing any piecemeal state-by-state approach would create COVID-era confusion and anxiety.
Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
