The Iran War entered its 24th day Monday with an announcement from President Donald Trump delaying the execution of his “ultimatum” to the Islamic Republic until Friday evening.
Trump wrote on Truth Social that he has “INSTRUCTED THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR TO POSTPONE ANY AND ALL MILITARY STRIKES AGAINST IRANIAN POWER PLANTS AND ENERGY INFRASTRUCTURE FOR A FIVE DAY PERIOD.”
Minutes after Trump’s post, the Israeli air force announced it had begun a “wave of strikes targeting infrastructure” across Tehran.
Previously, Trump had threatened to “obliterate” Iran’s power plants unless the Strait of Hormuz were fully opened by Monday night, Washington, DC time. Iran vowed to retaliate for any strikes on its power plants by targeting “critical infrastructure, energy infrastructure, and oil facilities throughout the region,” which would be “destroyed in an irreversible manner,” warning that “the price of oil will remain high for a long time.”
Iran’s Brigadier General Ebrahim Zolfaghari said on Sunday that targets would also include “information and communication technology (ICT) of the Zionist regime,” and that “all similar companies in the region with American shareholders will be completely destroyed.”
Asked about Hormuz and his ultimatum in a Sunday phone interview with an Israeli Channel 13 reporter, Trump said, “You’ll find out what’s gonna happen.”
“It’s gonna be very good,” he added. “Total decimation of Iran. It’s gonna work out very good.”
Those strikes are now delayed. Trump claims the U.S. is engaged in talks with Iran around “a complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East.”
Mehr News, citing a statement from the Iranian Foreign Ministry, denied Trump’s claim that any talks had occurred. Iran’s Speaker of Parliament MB Ghalibaf stated on X that “no negotiations have been held with the US,” adding that claims otherwise are “fake news,” being “used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped.”
Following Trump’s post, Brent crude fell 10 percent to around $100 per barrel. Global stock markets reversed the day’s losses and moved into positive territory. Gas prices remained elevated on Monday, with AAA reporting the national average gas price at $3.96 per gallon. Analysts noted that the ultimatum’s execution has been delayed until after markets close on Friday. An Israeli official told Sky News that people should take Trump’s announcement “cautiously, with a grain of salt.”
“It’s early Monday morning in the U.S., the start of the trading week,” the Israeli official said. “We saw a similar pattern last week. Oil prices have also declined, supporting the positive sentiment in the short term. For now, it appears he has bought a few more days roughly into week four, until the Marines arrive and complete their initial deployment and organization phase.”
The last point apparently refers to the potential deployment of ground troops to Iran or Kharg Island. Anonymous U.S. officials told to the Jerusalem Post Sunday that US officials have informed their counterparts in Israel that “there may be no alternative” but for the United States to stage a ground military operation to take Kharg Island
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Iran launched waves of missile and drone attacks on Sunday evening, targeting Israel and U.S. military assets across the region. Tehran said its Arash-2 drones hit sites near Ben Gurion Airport and Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, while Gulf states activated air defenses. Saudi Arabia said it intercepted a missile over Riyadh, and the UAE said it shot down a ballistic missile near the Al Shawamekh area, where an Indian national was injured by falling debris.
Iran’s Red Crescent Society reported on Sunday that over 81,000 civilian units have been damaged by American-Israeli attacks. Overnight strikes hit residential areas in Khorramabad in western Iran, where footage circulated by Fars showed rescue crews pulling a child’s body from the rubble after an apparent airstrike. Iranian media reported multiple civilian casualties and power outages.
NATO has reportedly withdrawn all personnel from its Iraq mission, with several hundred troops leaving after recent Iranian strikes on Western bases. NATO had been stationed in Iraq since at least 2004.
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