USA Contradictory signals: Will an agreement with Iran be reached?
While US President Donald Trump is spreading hope for a possible agreement to end the war despite signals to the contrary from Iran, the fighting continues for the time being. Israel's air defenses were again deployed during the night due to several missile attacks by its arch-enemy. Saudi Arabia and Bahrain also reported further drone and missile attacks. Israel is continuing its attacks in Iran and Lebanon, as announced by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
24.03.2026, 05:14
SDA
Trump had previously postponed the ultimate threat of attacks on Iranian power plants and described this as the result of "very good and productive talks on a full and final settlement of our hostilities" over the past few days. Originally, he had set Tehran a deadline of tonight to open the Strait of Hormuz, which is important for the global oil and gas market - otherwise he wanted to have Iran's power plants destroyed.
Instead, he now wants to refrain from attacking power plants and energy infrastructure for another five days, as he wrote on his Truth Social platform. As a result, the oil price, which had recently risen sharply, fell and stock exchanges made up some ground. On the leading Asian stock exchange in Tokyo, the Nikkei index was up slightly by 0.77% at 51,910.42 points at halftime. Trump had previously stated that talks with the Iranian side were expected to take place on Monday (local time). There was no confirmation from Tehran.
Negotiations in Islamabad?
Iran's parliamentary speaker Mohammed Bagher Ghalibaf also denied that negotiations had taken place with the USA. "Fake news" is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and to escape the "quagmire in which the USA and Israel are stuck". However, according to the US news portal Axios, Egypt, Pakistan and Turkey mediated between the US and Iran on Sunday and tried to arrange a phone call between Ghalibaf and Trump's team on Monday.
The mediating countries were trying to facilitate a meeting in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, Axios quoted an unnamed Israeli official as saying. Ghalibaf and other officials representing Tehran and, on the US side, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner and possibly US Vice President JD Vance would attend - possibly later this week, it said.
The Wall Street Journal also reported that Arab officials had held separate talks with both sides. Iran had made high demands for the cessation of hostilities, it said. According to "Axios", Israel knew about indirect communication between the USA and Iran, but was surprised at how quickly things then developed.
Netanyahu: Trump sees opportunity for agreement
Following the talks with Iran announced by the US, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu said in a video message: "President (Donald) Trump is convinced that there is an opportunity to use the tremendous successes we have achieved with the US military to realize the war aims through an agreement - an agreement that protects our vital interests." According to Trump's account, agreement was reached with Iran on around 15 points.
"They will never have nuclear weapons. They agreed to it," the US President told reporters in Florida. The USA and Israel justify their war with the aim of preventing Iran from building nuclear weapons, among other things. Tehran denies such intentions. Trump went on to say that the USA wanted to take over the enriched uranium in Iran. Iran is desperate for a deal to end the war - and so is the USA.
Trump also expressed confidence that Israel would also be convinced of a possible deal. However, the ally wants to continue attacking Iran for the time being. "We are dismantling the missile program and the nuclear program," said Prime Minister Netanyahu in the video message.
Israel continues ground operations in Lebanon
Israel will also continue to take action against the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, which is allied with Iran. According to Israel's army, it is carrying out "targeted ground operations" in the south of the northern neighboring country. Several armed militia members were captured on Sunday and brought to Israel "for further questioning", it said on Monday evening.
At the beginning of March, Hezbollah intervened in the war alongside Tehran and attacked Israel with rockets for the first time since a ceasefire began in November 2024. In response, Israel's army said it began "limited and targeted ground operations". It accuses the Lebanese army, which is supposed to disarm the militia as part of an agreement and prevent its military presence in southern Lebanon, of failing. Germany and other countries are warning of a major ground offensive, which many Lebanese also fear.
