Trump delays strikes on Iran again, says talks are going ‘well’

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday (March 26, 2026) said he is pausing any strike on Iran’s power plants until April 6 and added that “talks” with the Islamic Republic are going “very well”.

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Mr. Trump, on March 21, had issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face U.S. attacks on its power plants. Iran responded saying it would hit back at the energy infrastructure and American economic interests across the Persian Gulf. On March 23, Mr. Trump took an abrupt U-turn, saying he was in talks with Tehran and postponed strikes by five days.

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His new deadline was set to expire on Friday (March 27, 2026).

“I am pausing the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time. Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well,” Mr. Trump wrote in a social media post on Thursday (March 26, 2026) night.

Iran has denied holding holding talks with the U.S. Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said on Wednesday (March 25, 2026) that Islamabad had relayed a 15-point peace plan from Washington to Tehran. According to American and Israeli media reports, the U.S. proposal has promised a ceasefire and sanctions relief to Iran in return for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, abandoning any nuclear ambitions and limiting Iran’s missile programme. Iran’s state media reported that Tehran has dismissed the U.S. plan and made counter-proposals, demanding an end to the war on all fronts, war reparations and recognition of its “sovereignty” over the Strait of Hormuz.

While conflicting messages are emerging about talks, Israel and Iran continued to trade fire on Friday (March 27, 2026). Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz said on Friday that Tel Aviv would ramp up air strikes on Iran in the coming days as Tehran keeps firing ballistic missiles at Israel. Earlier in the day, the IDF announced that it had bombed a key Iranian naval and mine production facility and ballistic missile production sites.

“Despite the warnings, the fire continues, and therefore IDF strikes in Iran will intensify and expand to additional targets and domains that assist the regime in building and operating weapons against Israeli civilians,” Mr. Katz said.

Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said in a statement that it targeted storage tanks and the oil depot in Ashdod, Israel, and a U.S. military information exchange centre in the region.

“The IRGC also struck American military bases at Al-Dhafra [in the UAE], along with maintenance and storage hangars for transport aircraft and drones at Ali Al-Salem Air Base [Kuwait],” the Guards said.