Monday 23 / March / 2026
US President Donald Trump took to Truth Social Monday morning to announce that he would back off his 48-hour ultimatum — due to expire late Monday — for Iran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face massive attacks on its energy infrastructure.
In an all-caps statement, Trump cited "very good and productive conversations" with Iran as the reason for the pause. The US leader said he had instructed the military "to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five-day period."
Trump added the caveat that the pause remained contingent upon the success of talks that will be ongoing this week.
Trump offered no information about the talks that he was referring to, nor has Iran acknowledged that any have taken place.
Traders returned from their weekend off in a dour mood amid the reciprocal threats from the US and Iran and with no real sign of deescalation in the region.
Most of the major Asian markets shed more than 3% in a single day's trading and Europe has not started the day in a much more optimistic mood either. In Germany, the DAX had shed more than 2% of its value by lunchtime.
Traditional safe havens gold and silver were also in freefall again, after their peaks and troughs of recent months and years.
