Trump pauses Iran strikes: US rethinks strategy amid energy price surge, pressure from allies

US President Donald Trump appears to have backed off from his most extreme wartime threat because of rising energy prices and mounting pressure from regional allies. Gulf  governments reportedly warned Washington that destroying Iran’s power plants would  mark a dangerous escalation that could trigger retaliation against critical infrastructure across the Middle East, including energy facilities and desalination plants. At the same time, the sharp surge in global oil prices was beginning to create serious political pressure in the United States.

As a result, the US has postponed the planned strikes on Iranian power plants and granted a five-day window to explore possible peace talks. The reversal is especially striking because only days earlier, while departing for Florida, Trump had dismissed the idea of negotiations altogether. That hardline rhetoric culminated in a 48-hour ultimatum over the weekend: reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of key civilian power facilities. By backing away just hours before the deadline expired, Trump has opened a fragile diplomatic offramp.

At the same time, Tehran issued blunt counter-threats. Iranian officials warned that if power plants were hit, they would respond by targeting energy facilities and desalination plants belonging to US allies in the Middle East. For countries that rely heavily on desalination for drinking water, such threats carried enormous weight. The fear of a regional infrastructure war — one that could cripple water supplies as well as oil exports — appears to have pushed Washington to reconsider its next steps.

Domestic economic pressures added another layer of urgency. Oil and gas prices have surged sharply since the conflict began in late February, with some benchmarks rising by as much as 40 per cent. The head of the International Energy Agency described the situation as worse than the oil shocks of 1973 and 1979 combined. Financial markets reacted instantly when Trump announced the five-day diplomatic window. The S&P 500 rose by more than 1 per cent, while Brent crude dropped by roughly 10 per cent, offering a brief sense of relief to an administration that had been facing growing criticism over the war’s economic fallout.

A network of countries—including Pakistan, Oman, Turkey, Egypt and Qatar—has stepped in to carry messages between the two sides. Pakistan’s army chief has been in contact with Trump’s designated envoys, Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, while Turkish and Egyptian officials have also been actively involved in coordinating messages.

Several proposals for face-to-face meetings have already been floated. One suggestion involves Vice President JD Vance travelling to Pakistan to meet Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf. Another possibility under discussion is a meeting between Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and US envoys Witkoff and Kushner. European leaders, including the British prime minister, have indicated that they are aware of these highly sensitive diplomatic efforts, although none has publicly confirmed their details.

At the centre of the current diplomatic push is a 15-point proposal reportedly shared with Iran through Pakistani intermediaries. Trump has publicly highlighted several of the most demanding elements. Chief among them is the complete dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme. The US president stated bluntly that the Iranians “will never have a nuclear weapon”, making it clear that the issue dominates the proposed agreement. Washington is demanding that Tehran abandon uranium enrichment entirely, surrender its existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium and accept strict limitations on its defence capabilities. Additional demands reportedly include ending support for regional proxy groups and formally recognising Israel. Regional officials have warned privately that such sweeping conditions closely resemble earlier proposals that Iran rejected, making them extremely difficult for Tehran to accept now.

Iran’s response so far has combined public defiance with cautious engagement behind the scenes. Senior Iranian figures initially denied that any negotiations were taking place at all, dismissing Trump’s statements as an attempt to manipulate global energy markets and to escape what they described as a military stalemate. State media suggested that the US had backed down out of fear of Iranian retaliation. However, the foreign ministry later acknowledged receiving messages through friendly countries and confirmed that the proposals were under review. Iranian officials have also made it clear that they are not interested in a short-term ceasefire. Instead, they want a broader agreement that includes sanctions relief and firm guarantees that the United States and Israel will not launch further attacks.

Any diplomatic breakthrough is complicated by the deeply unsettled state of Iran’s leadership. Recent Israeli strikes have reportedly eliminated several senior figures, leaving the political system more fragmented than at any point in recent years. President Masoud Pezeshkian is widely seen as a moderate voice, but critics say he lacks the authority and experience needed to negotiate a complex nuclear settlement. At the same time, the country’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, remains largely invisible, fuelling speculation about who actually holds the power to approve a final deal. Trump himself has claimed that he is deliberately communicating with a different, unnamed senior figure in Iran rather than directly with the supreme leader, arguing that he wants to protect his contact from possible assassination.

The diplomatic shift has also exposed growing differences between Washington and Israel. While the Trump administration appears willing to test a negotiated settlement, Israeli leaders remain firmly focused on continuing the military campaign. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has insisted that the objective is to destroy both Iran’s missile programme and its nuclear infrastructure, and Israeli operations inside Iran have not slowed. Even as Trump paused the threat against power plants, US officials confirmed that other strikes were continuing and that additional American forces were moving toward the region.