Two Iranian energy sites damaged by airstrikes after Trump threatens to strike power plants: Report
Fars also claimed an attack struck natural gas infrastructure in Isfahan, while another "targeted" a gas pipeline for the Khorramshahr power plant.
Amid intensified war in the West Asia, a semi-official Iranian news agency close to Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard reported early on Tuesday that two energy sites had been struck by airstrikes. The report by the Fars news agency appeared timed to call into question comments by US President Donald Trump, who extended his deadline for Tehran to halt its attacks that have effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf. Trump had threatened to strike Iranian power plants.
Attacks strike natural gas infrastructure in Isfahan
Fars also claimed an attack struck natural gas infrastructure in Isfahan, while another "targeted" a gas pipeline for the Khorramshahr power plant.
Neither Israel nor the US had claimed strikes in the area on Monday, though both countries don't always acknowledge their attacks. It also wasn't immediately clear if those sites had been specifically targeted or damaged in strikes hitting other sites in the area.
Trump says Iran was eager for a deal to end the war
Earlier, Trump said the US was talking with a "respected" Iranian leader and claimed the Islamic Republic was eager for a deal to end the war. He also extended a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on its power plants, saying it has an additional five days.
Trump's turnaround, which held out the possibility of resolving the war now in its fourth week, served to drive down oil prices and jolt stocks. It offered a reprieve after the US and Iran traded threats over the weekend that could have cut electricity to millions in Iran and around the Gulf, and knocked out desalination plants providing many desert nations with drinking water.
Trump told reporters Iran wants "to make a deal," and he claimed US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner had held talks Sunday with an Iranian leader. He did not say who that was, but said the US has not talked to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
Iran denied talks had been held.
Iran says no negotiations have been held with the US
"No negotiations have been held with the US," Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf posted on X, adding that "fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets".
Trump claims Iran would give up its enriched uranium
Trump said if a deal is reached, the US would move to take Iran's enriched uranium, which is critical to its disputed nuclear programme. Iran has adamantly refused such demands in the past, insisting it has the right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes.
Turkey and Egypt, meanwhile, said they had spoken to the warring parties, the first sign of coordinated mediation from regional heavyweights. The war launched by the United States and Israel has killed more than 2,000 people, shaken the global economy, sent oil prices surging and endangered some of the world's busiest air corridors.
Trump threatened over the weekend to "obliterate" Iran's power plants unless the country releases its stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of all traded oil passed before the war, within 48 hours. That deadline would have expired late Monday Washington time.
The five-day extension was "subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions", Trump said. Speaking later in Tennessee, Trump said his administration has been negotiating "for a long time" with Iran.
"They want peace," Trump said. "They've agreed they will not have a nuclear weapon, you know, etc., etc. but we'll see." He said there's a "very good chance" a deal will be reached this week, crediting his threat to blow up Iranian power plants.
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