politics
March 23, 2026
Trump flip-flops on Iran deadline
Donald Trump has said he is postponing strikes on Iranian power plants for a five-day period, extending a deadline he gave the regime to open the strait of Hormuz. The US president had threatened to ‘obliterate’ Iran’s power plants, while Tehran said in return it would ‘irreversibly destroy’ essential infrastructure across the Middle East, including vital water systems, in the conflict’s latest escalation. The war in the Middle East is now in its fourth week as Trump declares the US and Iran had ‘good and productive conversations’, but what could come next? Lucy Hough speaks to the Guardian’s diplomatic editor, Patrick Wintour
TL;DR
- Donald Trump has postponed strikes on Iranian power plants for five days.
- This extends a deadline for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz.
- The US president had previously threatened to 'obliterate' Iran's power plants.
- Iran had threatened to 'irreversibly destroy' Middle Eastern infrastructure in response.
- The conflict is in its fourth week.
- Trump described US-Iran conversations as 'good and productive'.
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