Updated March 23, 2026 — Washington
President Trump announced early Monday that he has ordered a temporary postponement of planned U.S. airstrikes on Iranian power plants after “very good and productive conversations” during the past two days about reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
In a social media post, Mr. Trump said he had instructed the Department of War to suspend any and all military strikes against Iranian power and energy infrastructure for five days, contingent on the success of ongoing talks. The president framed the discussions as substantive, saying there were “major points of agreement” even if that has not been fully conveyed publicly.
Iran initially denied that talks with the United States had taken place. Later, however, a senior Iranian Foreign Ministry official told CBS News that Tehran had received points from the U.S. through mediators and that those proposals were under review.
Asked about the identity of the U.S. interlocutor, Mr. Trump declined to name the Iranian contact. He said the administration was dealing with a “top” figure but not Iran’s supreme leader, and added that Iran called the United States — “So they called, I didn’t call. They called. They want to make a deal.” He also said he would not identify the person because he did not want them to be killed.
The president’s remarks represent a reversal from a weekend social media post in which he warned that if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the U.S. would “hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST!”
Retired Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, a former national security adviser in Mr. Trump’s first administration and a CBS News contributor, said Iran’s decision-making appears fragmented. He suggested that Tehran’s foreign ministry may not be aware of who is speaking to intermediaries or to U.S. contacts directly, and predicted confusing reporting as a result.
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz told Face the Nation that the administration is keeping all options on the table and that degrading Iran’s military capacity and defense industrial base remains a consideration.
U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned last week that attacks on energy infrastructure could amount to war crimes. Ambassador Waltz replied that when a regime controls critical infrastructure and uses it to repress its people, attack neighbors, violate U.N. sanctions or pursue a nuclear program, those facilities may be legitimate targets.
The Strait of Hormuz, a key global oil transit route that once handled about 20% of the world’s seaborne oil, has been effectively closed since the outbreak of war. Iran had warned over the weekend it would “completely close” the Strait if the U.S. struck its nuclear power plants.
Markets responded quickly: oil and gas prices fell Monday morning after Mr. Trump announced progress in talks.
Claire Day contributed to this report.