#Trump said Monday he had put off his threat to bomb the #Iran #power grid for 5 days, hours ahead of his deadline. The #war is now in its 4th week; 3 countries are reportedly mediating [trying to pacify Trump].
Trump added in a post on Truth Social that the #US & Iran had had "VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE" conversations over the past 2 days about a "COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST".
[IOW the tanking global #economy gave him momentary pause]
A reporter for Axios said #Turkey, #Egypt & #Pakistan had met White House envoy Steve Witkoff &, separately, #Iran Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
The reporter, Barak Ravid, cited an unnamed #US source as saying the discussion was about ending the #war & resolving all outstanding issues.
Araghchi's ministry said there were "initiatives" to reduce tensions, the Mehr news agency reported, adding that Tehran wanted Washington, as the party that began the #war, to be a direct participant.
In his message, written entirely in capital letters, #Trump said he had instructed the #defense dept to postpone the strikes pending the outcome of the talks. He also told Fox Business Network that #Iran wanted badly to make a deal, which could come inside 5 days.
A source briefed on Israel's #war plans said Washington had kept it informed of its talks with Tehran, & that #Israel was likely to follow Washington in suspending any targeting of Iranian #power plants & #energy infrastructure.
On Saturday, #Trump had warned that #Iran #power plants would be destroyed if Tehran failed to "fully open" the #StraitOfHormuz to all shipping within 48 hrs. Trump set a deadline of around 7:44 PM EDT (2344 GMT) Monday.
The IRGC on Monday threatened retaliation, saying they would attack #Israel's power plants & those supplying #US bases across the Gulf region if Trump followed through with his threat.
#TrumpsWar #war #WarCrimes #RulesOfWar #law #geopolitics #MiddleEast #economy #energy
>2,000 people have been #killed in the #war the #US & #Israel launched on Feb 28, which has upended #markets, driven up #fuel costs, accelerated global #inflation fears & convulsed the Western defense #alliance.
However, the threat of strikes on Gulf #electricity grids raised fears of mass disruption to #desalination for #DrinkingWater, & further rattled #oil #markets.
#TrumpsWar #Iran #war #Trump #Netanyahu #WarCrimes #RulesOfWar #law #geopolitics #MiddleEast #economy #energy #EnergyCrisis
While attacks on #electricity could hurt #Iran, they could be catastrophic for its Gulf neighbors, which consume around 5 times as much #power per capita.
Electricity makes their gleaming desert cities habitable, in part by powering the #desalination plants that produce 100% of the #water consumed in #Bahrain & #Qatar. Such plants use seawater to meet more than 80% of #DrinkingWater needs in the #UAE, & 50% of the water supply in #SaudiArabia.
Fatih Birol, #IEA exec dir, said the resulting #EnergyCrisis was worse than the 2 #oil shocks of the 1970s & the #gas shortage connected to #Russia's 2022 invasion of #Ukraine put together.
#Iran's Defence Council escalated its threatened retaliation Monday, prior to Trump's delay, saying Tehran would cut all Gulf routes by laying sea #mines if #Trump followed through….
"In this case, the entire Gulf will practically be in a situation similar to the #StraitOfHormuz for a long time..."
TACO, once again.
Nonilex
Tom DB 🦣
James Britt