Updated March 23, 2026 at 5:24 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 the obliteration of its power plants.
Crude oil prices dropped on the news — to just under $100 a barrel, down more than $10 from last week.
But Iran's Foreign Ministry said, "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 | Lebanon | 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.
President Trump's announcement about negotiations came as thousands more U.S. Marines are headed to the Middle East. Observers are cautious about interpreting Trump's comments. Twice in the past year Washington and Tehran were entering diplomatic talks when the U.S. and Israel launched surprise strikes on Iran.
Israel strikes another bridge in Lebanon
Israel's military struck another bridge in southern Lebanon Monday, according to Lebanese state media.
It's the latest in stepped-up Israeli attacks in Lebanon, which has become a second front in the Middle East conflict.
Israel's military says it is targeting bridges that are vital to stopping the Iran-backed Lebanese militant group Hezbollah from transferring weapons south.
In early March, Hezbollah began firing rockets at northern Israel in support of Iran in the war and following months of Israel's attacks in Lebanon despite a ceasefire. Israel has responded with strikes and sweeping evacuation warnings for residents in southern Lebanon and around the capital, Beirut.
More than 1,000 people have been killed and more than 2,800 wounded by Israel's attacks in Lebanon, according to the Lebanese government's disaster management office. More than 1.2 million people have been forced out of their homes in Lebanon.
Ali al-Hek is sheltering in a tent with his parents and four siblings in a stadium in Beirut that's sheltering thousands of displaced people. "Airstrike warnings come so strong you couldn't run from them, there was no escape," he says.
Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said Israel's wider wave of attacks is "a prelude to ground invasion."
The Israel military's chief of staff says its fight against Hezbollah "has only just begun."
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.
Later, when President Trump posted on social media the morning about productive talks with Iran, crude oil prices slid dramatically from the highs of last week. The prices stayed lower even as Iran denied any talks with the U.S.
Ed Crooks, with the research firm Wood Mackenzie, says oil traders are jumping on the slightest hint about when the war will end.
"And that's why you're seeing prices swinging backwards and forwards on these little fragments of information," he says.
Meanwhile, the Strait of Hormuz remains largely closed for business.
Iran has been letting through some ships owned by or carrying cargo from countries it perceives as friendly or neutral in the conflict.
Turkey said earlier this month Iran let one of its ships through. India's ambassador to Iran says a few India-associated ships have passed through the strait and the countries are in talks to let through more.
A Chinese sailor on a Panamanian-flagged ship told NPR that the vessel carrying industrial methanol sailed through the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The sailor asked not to use their name because they were not authorized to speak to media. The crew of Burmese and Chinese sailors will sail back to home port in China.
China is a strategic partner of Iran and sources much of its oil and liquefied natural gas from suppliers in the Middle East. On Monday, it raised the maximum price for gas and diesel at the pumps.
China's Foreign Ministry repeated its call on Monday for the war to stop, saying that fighting only leads to a "vicious circle."
Aya Batrawy contributed to this report from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Carrie Kahn from Tel Aviv, Israel, Emily Feng from Van, Turkey, Jennifer Pak from Shanghai, Rebecca Rosman from Paris, and Camila Domonoske and Alex Leff from Washington.
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