U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during the "Making Health Technology Great Again" event at the White House in Washington, D.C, the United States, on July 30, 2025. (Xinhua/Hu Yousong)US President Donald Trump says the US and Iran have held talks on the "complete and total resolution of hostilities" in the Middle East.
He says that, as a result of the talks, he has postponed threatened strikes on Iranian power plants—oil and gas prices fall immediately.
In a post on TruthSocial, reproduced here in full and verbatim, Trump says: "I am pleased to report that the United States of America, and the country of Iran, have had, over the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East.
"Based on the tenor and tone of these in-depth, detailed, and constructive conversations, which will continue throughout the week, I have instructed the Department of War to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five-day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
On Saturday night, Trump had given Iran a 48-hour deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz - or, he said, the US would "obliterate" Iranian power plants.
Huge financial swings follow Trump's statement
Markets have reversed earlier moves after Donald Trump said the US and Iran had had "very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East".
Brent crude has fallen 13% to about $96 a barrel.
The FTSE 100 index is now up 0.5%, having fallen more than 2% earlier. Gas prices have fallen from 159p a therm to about 139p.
The yield on 10-year UK government bonds, which had risen to 5.121% earlier, is now down to 4.89% - which is lower than at the start of the day.
Trump's message was perhaps his most conciliatory since Operation Epic Fury began - but leaves significant unanswered questions.
While he made mention of "very good and productive" talks with Iran, that has not been confirmed by the Iranians, and the statement stands in stark contrast to the bellicose tone the warring parties struck over the weekend.
Additionally, it's not clear what, exactly, these talks focused on. The topic could potentially have been Iran's ballistic missile programme or nuclear enrichment, or simply a ceasefire - a prospect Trump specifically downplayed on Friday.
It could also be a reference to the Strait of Hormuz, although opening it to shipping traffic is something that the Iranians have so far not publicly promised. Most experts consider it unlikely, as Iran's stranglehold over Hormuz presents its greatest leverage in the war.
The US president is currently in Florida but will be travelling to Memphis early this afternoon to deliver a speech focused on crime-fighting efforts.
Much of the world, however, will be watching for any update or details about these talks, and what it could mean going forward.
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