Trump Delays Iran Power-Plant Strikes Five Days; Tehran Denies Any Talks

President Donald Trump said Monday he is postponing U.S. strikes on Iran’s energy infrastructure by five days, citing talks with Iran, after issuing a weekend ultimatum that Tehran reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours or face attacks on its power plants. Iranian officials said no negotiations took place, ABC News reported.

Trump said the discussions went “perfectly,” would continue by phone and that a meeting would happen “soon,” according to ABC News. He said special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner led the talks for the U.S., and that the United States was speaking with a “top person” in Iran rather than new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whom he did not name. He said there was a “very serious chance of making a deal” but was not “guaranteeing anything.”

Iran contradicted him. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Qalibaf said reports of talks were “fake news” meant to manipulate financial and oil markets, NPR and ABC News reported. Iran’s Foreign Ministry also denied talks, saying “There is no dialogue between Tehran and Washington,” NPR reported, and ABC cited the semi-official Mehr News Agency for the denial. NPR added that the ministry did confirm receiving messages from friendly countries in the region saying the United States had demanded talks, and that NPR had confirmed backchannel efforts, with Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt passing messages.

On the nuclear question, Trump said Iran “will never have a nuclear weapon” and that Iran had agreed to that, ABC reported. Asked how the United States would obtain Iran’s enriched uranium, he said Americans would go in and take it if a deal were reached. Experts told ABC that would likely require a large ground force because the material is believed to be buried deep at bombed sites. Trump also said he wants a “very serious form of regime change” in Iran.

Trump said Iran would not control the strait alone. It would be “jointly controlled,” he said, joking, “Maybe me, me and the next ayatollah,” according to ABC. Iran still controls the waterway, ABC reported.

The military buildup continues. Thousands more Marines are heading to the Middle East, NPR and ABC News reported, along with several Navy ships, according to ABC, and the Pentagon is seeking $200 billion in supplemental war funding. Asked whether it would still seek the money if talks ended the war, Trump said it “would be nice to have,” according to ABC.

ABC noted that on Friday Trump had said there was “nobody to talk to” after U.S. and Israeli strikes killed much of Iran’s leadership. On Monday he would not say whom the administration is speaking to, saying only that it was a “top” person and not the supreme leader, and CBS News reported he declined to name the person “because I don’t want him to be killed.” NPR noted that observers are cautious, because twice in the past year Washington and Tehran were entering diplomatic talks when the U.S. and Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran.