WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump yesterday hailed “very good” talks with an unidentified Iranian official after abruptly shelving plans for fresh attacks, even as Washington’s ally Israel vowed to keep up strikes on the Islamic republic.
The surprise disclosure—denied by Tehran, which accused Trump of manipulating energy markets—came ahead of last night's deadline imposed by Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane or see the US “obliterate” its power plants.
Oil prices fell and stock markets jumped as observers scrambled to interpret Trump’s statements despite the Iranian denial.
Axios, citing an unnamed Israeli official, identified Trump’s interlocutor as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s speaker of parliament and one of its most prominent non-clerical figures.
The outlet and newswire Reuters reported US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may meet an Iranian delegation for talks in Pakistan as soon as this week, with Vice President JD Vance possibly joining.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt did not deny the reports, saying “speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House.”
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif yesterday said he spoke with Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, promising Islamabad’s help bringing peace to the region.
But Ghalibaf said on X that “no negotiations” were underway, insisting Trump was seeking “to manipulate the financial and oil markets.”
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said messages were received from “some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war”, but denied any such talks had taken place, Iran’s official IRNA agency reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken to Trump and acknowledged the United States thought a deal was possible, but vowed to continue striking Iran and Lebanon to protect Israel.
“Trump believes there is a chance to leverage the tremendous achievements of the IDF and the US military... in an agreement,” he said.
“At the same time, we continue to strike both in Iran and in Lebanon.”
