President Trump on Thursday again said he was delaying his plan to order major strikes on Iran’s power plants, claiming that negotiations with Iran were going well despite Tehran’s continued insistence that talks with the US aren’t even happening.
“As per Iranian Government request, please let this statement serve to represent that I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 PM, Eastern Time,” the president wrote on Truth Social.
“Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well. Thank you for your attention to this matter!” Trump added.
The president initially threatened to destroy Iran’s power plants by this past Monday if Tehran didn’t “fully open” the Strait of Hormuz, then backed off and pushed the deadline to this Friday. For its part, Iran has said that it would retaliate with major attacks on energy infrastructure in Israel and countries hosting US bases, which would exacerbate the global economic crisis and spike in oil prices caused by the war.
Earlier on Thursday, Trump contradicted himself in a post on Truth Social about the purported negotiations with Iran, suggesting that Tehran was desperate for a deal but was also not taking talks seriously.
“The Iranian negotiators are very different and ‘strange.’ They are ‘begging’ us to make a deal, which they should be doing since they have been militarily obliterated, with zero chance of a comeback, and yet they publicly state that they are only “looking at our proposal.” WRONG!!!” he said. “They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty!”
Iranian officials have acknowledged that the US has sent messages through mediators, but they maintain they’re not engaged in negotiations or seeking a ceasefire. Iranian media reported that Iranian officials had rejected a 15-point US proposal to end the war and set their own conditions.
Trump has previously used negotiations with Iran as cover for war preparations, as Iran has now been attacked twice while engaging with the US diplomatically. Trump’s new deadline on the power plant strikes could be related to the timing of when thousands of US Marines are set to get to the region, as the US is reportedly preparing for a major escalation of the war that could involve ground attacks on Iranian islands.
