Iran War Live Updates: Trump Postpones Strikes on Iran’s Power Plants, Citing ‘Strong Talks’

Beirut/Tel Aviv6:41 p.m. March 23 Tehran8:11 p.m. March 23 Iran War Live Updates: Trump Postpones Strikes on Iran’s Power Plants, Citing ‘Strong Talks’ Iran disputed Trump’s claim of productive negotiations, casting it as a ploy to soothe markets and to buy time for more military action. - Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times - Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times - Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times - Avishag Shaar-Yashuv for The New York Times - Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times - Ariel Schalit/Associated Press - Kawnat Haju/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images - Reuters - Jack Guez/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images - Social media, via Agence France-Presse - Tolga Akbaba/Anadolu, via Getty Images - Diego Ibarra Sanchez for The New York Times - Arash Khamooshi for The New York Times - Amit Elkayam for The New York Times President Trump claimed Monday that the United States and Iran were engaging in “very strong talks” toward resolving the three-week war in the Middle East, adding that Jared Kushner, his son-in-law, and Steve Witkoff, one of his most senior advisers, were leading the negotiations from the American side. Mr. Trump said he was postponing any American attacks on Iranian power plants by five days while the talks take place. However, at least publicly, Iran appeared to reject any progress in ending the U.S.-Israeli war on the country, now in its fourth week. American, Israeli and Iranian officials have frequently given clashing prognoses throughout the war as they seek to advance their competing agendas and motives. Mr. Trump himself has often issued contradictory pronouncements about his plans for the next steps in the conflict, sometimes on the same day. On Saturday, Mr. Trump had threatened to bomb Iran’s power plants after 48 hours unless Iran agreed to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a critical oil shipping route in the Persian Gulf. Now, Mr. Trump said that the United States is communicating with one of Iran’s leaders, demanding an end to Iranian nuclear enrichment and the country’s uranium stockpiles that could be used to one day make a bomb. He declined to name their Iranian interlocutor, except to say that it was not the newly anointed Iranian supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei. The Israeli government did not immediately comment, and it was unclear whether it would be bound by any agreement. But Mr. Trump insisted that Israel was going to be “very happy with what we have,” adding that U.S. officials had just discussed the talks with Israeli counterparts. Iran’s foreign ministry said that there had been regional initiatives aimed at reducing tensions. But the ministry argued Mr. Trump’s statements were part of an effort “to reduce energy prices and to buy time for implementing his military plans,” according to Iran’s state-run Mizan news agency. Analysts and officials say there is still no clear offramp for the American-Israeli air war with Iran, which began on Feb 28. and has ignited a wider regional conflict. Despite Mr. Trump’s calls for the ouster of the Islamic Republic and his vow to help Iranians overthrow their leaders, the Iranian government remains in place, as is much of its nuclear program. The foreign minister of Oman, which has frequently mediated between the United States and Iran, said on social media shortly before Mr. Trump’s announcement that Oman was working to establish “safe passage arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz.” The war’s global fallout has seen the price of oil and gas shoot up by over 50 percent since late February — a crisis that is now worse than the oil shocks in 1973 and 1979 combined, according to the head of the International Energy Agency. Iran has largely blocked most Western and Arab oil vessels from transiting the Strait of Hormuz, through which one-fifth of the world’s oil normally crosses. Mr. Trump’s announcement that talks with Iran were in the offing immediately reduced the price of a barrel of Brent crude oil, the industry standard, to about $100, after climbing to $114 earlier on Monday. But it was unclear how long that optimism could last without tangible progress toward ending the war. More than 2,000 people have been killed since the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran that ignited the conflict more than three weeks ago, most of them in Iran and Lebanon, where Israel has fought a second front with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group. Here’s what else to follow today: Israeli air defenses: Israel’s military faced scrutiny on Sunday about Iranian missiles that hit Dimona, a city eight miles away from Israel’s main nuclear facility, and the nearby city of Arad on Saturday night. More than 10 people were seriously injured and dozens more hurt in the strikes, renewing concerns that Israel might be holding back on using its most sophisticated air defenses to avoid depleting them. Attacks in Lebanon: Israel’s military chief said on Sunday that its campaign against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed armed group in Lebanon, had “only just begun,” adding that Israeli forces were preparing to push deeper into that country. Israel Katz, Israel’s defense minister, ordered the military to step up the demolition of bridges and houses in Lebanon, deepening fears that Israel is preparing for a long-term occupation in the country’s south. Death tolls: Iran’s U.N. ambassador said that at least 1,348 civilians had been killed in the country since the start of the war — a toll that has not been updated for over a week. On Friday, a Washington-based group, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, reported that at least 1,398 civilians had been killed. More than 1,000 people in Lebanon have been killed, the authorities there said on Thursday. At least 15 people have been killed in Iranian attacks on Israel, officials have said. The American death toll stood at 13 service members. The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross said on Monday that “war on essential infrastructure is war on civilians,” citing attacks on energy, water and healthcare facilities in the Middle East. President Trump has threatened to strike Iran’s energy infrastructure, and Israel has done so. Iran has hit water desalination plants, and oil and gas facilities in multiple countries, and has threatened more such attacks if its power grid is hit. “Most alarming is the potential harm to nuclear facilities,” the Red Cross president, Mirjana Spoljaric, said in a statement, warning of potentially “irreversible consequences.” The United States and Israel have attacked nuclear sites in Iran, and Iranian missiles have struck near Israel’s main nuclear facility. Britain’s government is looking at measures to prevent profiteering by companies as a result of the spike in energy prices caused by conflict in Middle East, Prime Minister Keir Starmer told senior lawmakers. One issue is whether the country’s antitrust agency should be given more “teeth” to prevent “price gouging or profiteering,” he said. The Lebanese health ministry said a person was killed in a strike on an apartment in Hazmieh, east of Beirut, according to the country’s state-run National News Agency. The Israeli military said the attack was targeting a member of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which has helped Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group, fight against Israel. Prime Minister Keir Starmer of Britain told senior lawmakers that his government was aware of talks between the U.S. and Iran and that the priority was to achieve “a negotiated agreement which puts tight conditions on Iran particularly in relation to nuclear weapons.” While Starmer said he hoped for a swift end to hostilities, he added that, in terms of the potential economic impact, he had “to plan on the basis there may not be.” Mike Wirth, the chief executive of U.S. oil giant Chevron, said that he does not think the fall in oil prices on Monday reflected how much pressure the war in the Middle East has put on the global energy market. “Physical supplies would reflect a tighter market than I think the forward curve reflects,” Wirth said at an energy conference in Houston, referring to Brent Crude futures, the global benchmark, which tumbled to about $100 a barrel after President Trump said the United States and Iran had productive talks on ending the war. Iran denied that talks had taken place. Energy Secretary Chris Wright was appearing at CERAWeek, the oil and gas industry’s most important annual conference. He sought to make the case for the conflict with Iran to energy companies, many of whose operations have been severely disrupted by the war over recent weeks. “This is a conflict that we simply couldn’t kick down the road,” Wright said. “There are short-term disruptions right now, but to end a multi-decadal problem and lead to a world that’s much more peaceful.” The United States started releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve on Friday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright told a gathering of oil and gas executives in Houston on Monday. Wright predicted that the release of the emergency oil stockpiles, which had been announced this month in an effort to ease global supply constraints, would reach between 1 million and 1.5 million barrels per day. Reporting from Damascus, Syria The Israeli military struck the Dallafa Bridge in southern Lebanon on Monday, the latest in a series of strikes on vital transit routes in the area over recent days. Israeli officials say the attacks are aimed at Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed armed group, which it has accused of using the bridges to send fighters and weapons to the south to fight Israel. But Lebanese civilians have also used the bridges to escape the fighting in southern Lebanon, amid Israel’s intense bombardment. President Trump told reporters that the U.S. and Iran had held “very strong talks” that would continue today by phone. He said his envoy, Steve Witkoff, and his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were leading the talks from the U.S. side, and had been dealing with a “top person” in Iran, but wouldn’t name the person. Trump said the person is not Iran’s supreme leader. Iran, at least publicly, appeared to reject any progress in ending the U.S.-Israeli war earlier on Monday. U.S. stock markets opened up on Monday morning, with the S&P 500 up more than 1 percent and on course for its biggest rise since the start of the Iran war in late February. The rises follow President Trump’s claims that he ordered the U.S. military to postpone striking Iranian energy infrastructure for five days after constructive talks with Iran to end the war. Iranian officials denied any talks had taken place. S&P 500 The administration has pointed to the importance of the 10-year yield before. It is a crucial reference interest rate around the world, underpinning corporate and consumer interest rates from business loans to home mortgages. Trump wants a lower 10-year yield, which would help with affordability by reducing the cost of a mortgage and other types of borrowing. But the Iran war has been inflationary, and the typical way to deal with inflation is to raise interest rates. Ahead of the midterms, some investors expect Trump’s focus to shift back to his domestic policy agenda. Before President Trump’s announcement about talks with Iran to end the war, the 10-year Treasury yield, which reflects government borrowing costs over a decade, rose past 4.40 percent for the first time this year, and was close to crossing the 4.5 percent threshold before Trump issued his statement. This is around the same level that prompted Trump to cite the bond market when he pulled back from his initial tariff announcement last April. Stocks, bonds rose and the price of oil fell sharply after President Trump said that the United States had held productive talks to end the war with Iran. The price of Brent crude, the international oil benchmark, fell sharply to as low as $96 a barrel before rising about $100 after Iranian state media denied that talks had taken place. That was still down from a high of $114 on Monday. Price of Brent Crude Oil The Iranian ministry of foreign affairs suggested Iran was not engaging with the United States on ending the war and said President Trump’s statement was part of an effort “to reduce energy prices and to buy time for implementing his military plans,” according to Mizan, Iran’s state-run news agency. “Yes, there have been initiatives from regional countries to reduce tensions, and our response to all of them is clear: we are not the party that started this war, and all such requests should be directed to Washington,” Mizan cited the ministry as saying. Tasnim, the semiofficial Iranian news agency, cited an anonymous senior security offiicial as saying that President Trump backed off his threat to target Iranian infrastructure “after Iran’s military threats became credible.” The report added that the official contradicted Trump’s claim that the countries had hheld “productive conversations” to end the conflict. “From the beginning of the war until today, messages have been sent to Tehran by some mediators, and the clear response has been that we will continue our defense until the necessary level of deterrence is achieved,” the official said. “There have been no negotiations and there are none underway.” The Israeli military said on Monday that a farmer and kibbutz official who was killed along the country’s border with Lebanon on Sunday was struck by errant Israeli artillery fire, not by Hezbollah, which had claimed credit for his death. Ofer Moskovitz, 60, died when the car he was in was hit and set alight in Misgav Am. The military said that an initial review of the incident showed flaws in the planning and execution of the artillery fire, which was meant to support Israeli troops in southern Lebanon. Five rounds fired “at an incorrect angle” were aimed at the Misgav Am ridge instead of toward the enemy target, the military said in a statement. Iranian state media and semiofficial outlets have portrayed President Trump’s announcement of talks as a sign that he was “backing down” in the face of Iran’s vows to retaliate for any U.S. strikes on power and energy sites. “Trump, out of fear of Iran’s response, backed down from his 48-hour ultimatum,” the state broadcaster, IRIB, said. President Trump now has until Friday — presumably an extendable deadline — to work out a way to open the Strait of Hormuz. For him, that is the most urgent political and economic issue, and one that the administration clearly did not enter the war prepared to handle. And if negotiations fail, by the end of the deadline about 4,500 U.S. Marines will be in the region. President Trump promised a five-day moratorium on any U.S. attacks on Iranian energy sites, but he did not promise a broader cease-fire. His announcement on Monday that the United States had held productive talks with Iran about ending the war sent the price of oil down and U.S. stock market futures up, and essentially gave the president some breathing room after the conflict had sent shockwaves across the global economy. On Saturday, President Trump had set a deadline of about 7pm Eastern before U.S. forces would start attacking Iranian power plants unless Iran fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz. That put him in a box: Attacking power plants would have been a violation of the Geneva Conventions, and would likely have resulted in exactly the kind of retaliation that he was trying to prevent last week when he urged Israel not to attack Iranian oil and gas production. But backing down would have looked weak. Oman is “working intensively to put in place safe passage arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz,” the country’s foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, said on social media shortly before President Trump said that the United States had had “productive conversations” about ending the war. Oman has frequently mediated between the United States and Iran. “Whatever your view of Iran, this war is not of their making,” he said. “This is already causing widespread economic problems and I fear they promise to get much worse if the war continues.” Oil prices tumbled after President Trump said he had ordered the Pentagon to postpone any strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure. The price of Brent Crude, the global benchmark, fell to less than $100 after climbing to nearly $110 a barrel earlier on Monday. Oil prices tumbled and stocks jumped on Monday after President Trump backed away from a threat to strike Iranian energy infrastructure, saying the United States and Iran had held “productive” talks. Investors had been braced for a fourth week of market turmoil caused by the war in the Middle East as a wave of strikes on Iran knocked out power across large parts of Tehran on Monday. Before Mr. Trump’s announcement of talks, stocks were heading lower and oil prices higher, as they have been for weeks. Mr. Trump had said over the weekend that U.S. forces would start attacking Iranian power plants on Monday unless Iran fully reopened the Strait of Hormuz. On Monday, he promised a five-day moratorium on any U.S. attacks on the energy sites. Despite Tehran responding to Mr. Trump by saying that no such talks were taking place, the gains in stocks and drop in oil mostly held. For some investors, this will be further evidence of the power of markets over this administration. While Mr. Trump may try to portray himself as unrestrained, the sharp rise in oil prices and interest rates in recent weeks is being seen by some market watchers as pushing the president to try to ease investors’ worries. However, for other investors, Tehran’s pushback will also serve as a sign that the war in Iran — unlike Venezuela, for example — is not entirely under Mr. Trump’s control. That’s particularly important when it comes to the price of oil, worries about inflation, and the potential for that to push up interest rates in the United States. Earlier Monday the 10-year Treasury yield, which reflects government borrowing costs over 10 years and underpins the cost of debt across the economy, rose past 4.40 percent for the first time this year, and came close to crossing 4.5 percent. This is around the same level that prompted Mr. Trump to explicitly reference the bond market when he pulled back from his initial tariff announcement last April. The yield retreated from those highs after Mr. Trump announced talks were underway. Oil prices tumble. Price of Brent Crude Oil The price of Brent crude, the global benchmark, fell to just above $100 a barrel. Brent settled at $112.19 a barrel on Friday. West Texas Intermediate crude, the U.S. benchmark, declined to about $90 a barrel. W.T.I. settled at $98.23 on Friday. Investors and analysts across the world are focused on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital trading route for oil and natural gas that normally carries as much as one-fifth of the world’s oil supply. Shipping traffic exiting the Persian Gulf through the strait has been effectively halted because of the risk that vessels could be attacked. Global stocks recover. S&P 500 The S&P 500 opened nearly 1.5 percent higher. On Friday, the index had closed 1.5 percent lower. Stocks in Europe reversed earlier declines, with the Stoxx 600, a broad European index, rising more than 1 percent in afternoon trading. The DAX in Germany jumped nearly 2 percent, and the FTSE 100 in Britain was up slightly. Stock markets in Asia, where economies are especially vulnerable to the shock of rising energy costs, tumbled on Monday. The worst performer was the Kospi index in South Korea, which plummeted 6.5 percent. The Nikkei index in Japan dropped 3.5 percent, and the Hang Seng Index in Hong Kong traded 4 percent lower. But Asian markets closed before Mr. Trump’s comments. U.S. gasoline prices continue to climb. Gas prices rose again on Monday, with the national average at $3.96 a gallon, according to the AAA motor club. The increase has raised the cost for drivers almost 33 percent since the war began. Diesel prices have increased even more quickly, reaching $5.29 a gallon, up 41 percent since the start of the war, on Sunday.