Donald Trump evoked “negotiations” with an unidentified Iranian official. However, the President of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, denied any negotiations with the United States. “False information is being used to manipulate financial and oil markets,” he stated. In response to Mr. Trump’s announcements, oil prices plummeted by more than 10% on Monday.
The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, stated that he had spoken with the American President. He expressed his determination to continue strikes in Iran and Lebanon. Shortly after, the Israeli army announced new strikes against targets of the pro-Iranian Islamist movement Hezbollah in Beirut.
The Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced that he had spoken with Iranian President Massoud Pezechkian and promised Islamabad’s assistance in bringing peace to the region.
Donald Trump announced a “five-day delay” for any strike he intended to launch on power plants or energy infrastructure in Iran. However, Trump threatened to “continue to bomb aggressively” if negotiations failed.
The strategic standoff of the war still focuses on the Strait of Hormuz. In response to the ultimatum, Iran had threatened to completely close the strait and target “all energy, information technology, and water desalination infrastructures belonging to the United States,” according to the Fars agency citing the Iranian army.
In Lebanon, one person was killed in an Israeli strike in Beirut targeting a member of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, according to Israel. Later in the evening, the Israeli army announced new strikes against Hezbollah targets in Beirut and captured two of its elite fighters in southern Lebanon.
