President Donald Trump said on Monday that the United States is in talks with a “more reasonable regime” in Iran to end ongoing hostilities, but he renewed his warning to Tehran: open the Strait of Hormuz or face U.S. attacks on its oil wells, power plants, and desalination facilities.
Trump threatened that Iran’s critical energy infrastructure and water supply systems could be destroyed if negotiations do not yield results soon.
The Republican president’s warning follows his announcement last week that he would pause strikes on Iranian energy facilities for 10 days, a period set to end on April 6, U.S. time.
“Great progress has been made, but if for any reason a deal is not shortly reached, which it probably will be, and if the Hormuz Strait is not immediately ‘Open for Business,’ we will conclude our stay in Iran by completely destroying all their electric generating plants, oil wells, and Kharg Island,” Trump wrote in a social media post.
Despite the threat, Trump stressed that “serious discussions” were ongoing with what he called a “new and more reasonable” Iranian regime.
Iran, however, stated on Monday that no direct negotiations with the U.S. have taken place, noting that recent contacts have only involved messages exchanged through intermediaries.
Regional countries, including Pakistan, Türkiye, and Egypt, have sought to broker talks, with Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar indicating that Islamabad is willing to host negotiations.
On Sunday, Trump encouraged diplomatic efforts through these intermediaries, stating that indirect discussions via Pakistani “emissaries” are progressing and that a deal could be reached fairly quickly.
The current crisis follows a U.S.- and Israel-led air offensive against Iran on February 28, which killed at least 1,340 people, including senior Iranian officials.
Tehran has since retaliated with drone and missile strikes targeting Israel, Jordan, Iraq, and Gulf countries hosting U.S. military assets, causing casualties, infrastructure damage, and disruptions to global markets and aviation.
