US President Donald Trump said he sees a "very serious chance" of making a deal with Tehran after he revealed the two sides held talks over the weekend that led him to delay any strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure for five days.
Speaking to reporters before boarding Air Force One on March 23, Trump said special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, were involved in talks initiated by Iran with a "senior" Iranian leader -- though not Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei -- that have lead to "major points of agreement."
Officials and state-affiliated media in Iran immediately denied any such dialogue taking place. The Tasnim and Fars news agencies, both close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), cited sources saying "no negotiations" were under way, either directly or indirectly, between Tehran and Washington.
Oman, meanwhile, is "working intensively to put in place safe passage arrangements for the Strait of Hormuz," the country's foreign minister, Badr al-Busaidi, said on social media shortly before Trump said the United States had "productive conversations" about ending the war.
"Based on the tenor and tone of these in depth, detailed, and constructive conversations, witch [sic] 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," Trump said in the social media post on March 23, adding the halt was subject to the success of the talks.
SEE ALSO: How Far Could Iranian Missiles Reach?There had been no prior announcement that talks between Washington and Tehran were being held. There was no immediate public comment from Israel, which said just after Trump's announcement that it was conducting air strikes on central Iran.
"We've wiped out the leadership phase one, phase two, and largely phase three. But we're dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader," Trump told reporters. "We want no enrichment, but we also want the enriched uranium."
Strait Of Hormuz Deadline
Trump's announcement comes as a deadline he set looms for Iran to open the crucial Strait of Hormuz.
Trump had given Tehran until 7:44 p.m. Washington time on March 23 to "fully open" the key waterway, which handles about 20 percent of the world's oil and gas supplies, or face dire consequences, including the obliteration of Iran's power plants.
That warning came a day after Trump had said he was considering "winding down" military operations with, he asserted, most US goals achieved. The Pentagon is also reportedly sending thousands of additional ground forces to the region.
Iran had vowed to retaliate if Trump should carry out his threat on power plants.
SEE ALSO: Iran's Long-Distance Strikes On Diego Garcia Put Europe On High AlertIran's military command was quoted by state media as saying that if Iran's fuel and energy infrastructure is attacked, all energy infrastructure belonging to the United States in the region will be targeted. Iran also said desalination facilities will be struck.
Separately, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, speaker of the Iranian parliament, warned that "immediately after the targeting of power plants and infrastructure in our country, vital infrastructure and energy and oil infrastructure throughout the region will be considered legitimate targets and will be irreversibly destroyed."
According to the HRANA Iranian human rights group, more than 3,000 people have been killed in the war since the United States and Israel launched strikes on February 28.
The conflict has upended energy and stock markets, driven up fuel costs, fueled global inflation fears and rocked the Middle East and the West, with concerns the fighting will spillover and engulf the region.
The threat of strikes on Gulf electricity grids raised fears of mass disruption to desalination for drinking water and further rattled oil markets.
The price of the Brent crude oil benchmark has skyrocketed since the outbreak of the conflict, but was down sharply after Trump's initial comments about the talks with Iran.
He added during his remarks to the press that a decision last week to ease sanctions on Iranian oil -- which had been criticized by some for allowing Iran to help fund its strikes on targets around the Middle East -- was made because he wanted there to be "as much oil in the system as possible."
The price of Brent crude oil was trading at around $102 a barrel in midafternoon activity on March 23, down almost 9 percent on the day.