Updated March 23, 2026 at 4:08 PM EDT
President Trump on Monday said the United States is negotiating with Iran to end the war now in its fourth week.
He said the U.S. will hold off attacking Iran's energy infrastructure for five days while the talks continue. It came hours before a deadline he had imposed for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face U.S. obliteration of Iranian power plants.
But Iran's Foreign Ministry says "there is no dialogue between Tehran and Washington."
Here's what else to know about the latest developments in the conflict.
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Iran talks | Iran threats | U.S. campaign timeline | Energy crisis
Trump talks up U.S.-Iran talks
President Trump said the U.S. will delay military strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure while it negotiates with Iran.
Over the weekend, Trump had threatened to "obliterate" the country's power plants within 48 hours if Iran didn't let ships pass through the Strait of Hormuz.
But on Monday, hours before his deadline, Trump said on social media the U.S. and Iran have had "VERY GOOD AND PRODUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS REGARDING A COMPLETE AND TOTAL RESOLUTION OF OUR HOSTILITIES IN THE MIDDLE EAST." He said while talks continue throughout the week, the U.S. is postponing attacks on Iran's power plants and energy infrastructure for five days.
Speaking to reporters later Monday, Trump said, "We have had very, very strong talks. We'll see where they lead. We have major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement."
He laid out objectives, including Iran halting uranium enrichment for its nuclear program and the U.S. removing the enriched uranium already in the country.
Iran's Foreign Ministry denied entering talks with the U.S. The parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, alleged that reports of talks are "fake news" that are "intended to manipulate financial and oil markets and to escape the quagmire in which America and Israel are trapped." Stocks surged and oil prices dropped Monday morning.
The Foreign Ministry did confirm receiving messages from friendly countries in the region that said the U.S. demanded talks with Tehran to end the war.
And NPR has confirmed that backchannel efforts are underway, with regional players working behind the scenes to de-escalate tensions and prevent a broader conflict.
Iran's president and foreign minister have held phone calls with officials in Pakistan, Turkey and Egypt. NPR has learned that these countries are transferring messages and playing a role in efforts toward de-escalation.
Egypt's president has traveled to almost every Gulf capital to meet with rulers in the region in recent days.
Egyptian officials tell NPR there's an effort to try to lay the groundwork for a 30- to 60-day ceasefire or a detente of some kind to keep Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates from directly responding to Iran's attacks on their territory and widening the war. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they're not authorized to speak to reporters.
Observers are cautious about interpreting President Trump's comments about negotiations. Twice in the past year Washington and Tehran were entering talks when the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran.
Iran threatens attacks on Gulf energy infrastructure
Iranian officials warned Monday that if the U.S. attacks Iran's power plants, Iran would retaliate against energy and water infrastructure across the Gulf region – including in countries that host U.S. military bases.
In a separate statement, Iran's Defense Council said "non-belligerent" countries could only transit through the Strait of Hormuz through coordination with Iran, and warned that any attack on Iran's coasts or islands would trigger mine-laying across Gulf sea lanes that could effectively block maritime traffic beyond the narrow strait.
CENTCOM chief says U.S. campaign is "ahead or on plan" as Hormuz crisis deepens
U.S. Central Command commander Adm. Brad Cooper said Monday that the Strait of Hormuz is "physically open," but argued ships are staying away because Iran was firing missiles and drones at vessels. Cooper made the comments in an interview with Iran International, a London-based Persian news outlet.
Cooper said the U.S. campaign in Iran is "ahead or on plan," saying that Iran's military capabilities are deteriorating.
He also accused Iran of increasingly targeting civilians across the Middle East.
"They're operating in a sign of desperation…in the last couple of weeks they've attacked civilian targets very deliberately, more than 300 times," Cooper said.
International Energy Agency head warns global economy faces "major, major threat"
Fatih Birol, the head of the International Energy Agency, warned Monday that the global economy faces a "major, major threat" from the war's disruption to oil and gas flows.
"No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction," Birol said speaking at Australia's National Press Club in Canberra Monday.
He added: "The situation is very severe."
"At least 40 energy facilities across nine countries have also been severely damaged in the conflict."
Birol said the current situation was worse than the combined oil crises of 1973 and 1979, which together lost 10 million barrels per day.
"And today, only as of today," we lost 11 million barrels per day – so more than two major oil shocks put together," he said.
Birol said the IEA was consulting with governments in Europe, Asia, North America and the Middle East about releasing more stockpiles of oil, in addition to the "historic" 400 million barrels of oil released earlier this month.
Rebecca Rosman contributed to this report from Paris.
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