🚨PRESIDENT TRUMP ANNOUNCES A 5-DAY PAUSE. IRAN SAYS THERE WERE NO TALKS. BOTH CLAIMS TO BE WINNING-Iran’s Senior Military Adviser says that war continues until full compensation
Iran War — Day 24. Here are the 10 latest updates you should probably know…
1. PRESIDENT TRUMP ANNOUNCED A 5-DAY PAUSE. IRAN SAID THERE WERE NO TALKS. BOTH CLAIMED TO BE WINNING.
This is the defining story of Day 24.
Trump announced on Monday morning in all caps on Truth Social that the US and Iran had held “very good and productive conversations” and that he was postponing all strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry responded within hours: “There is no dialogue between Tehran and Washington.”
Iran’s parliament speaker called it “fake news” designed to manipulate oil markets.
And yet behind the scenes Egypt, Pakistan, Turkey and Qatar are all passing messages between both sides.
The war paused. The denials continued. The talks appear real.
2. THE SECRET MEETING IS REPORTEDLY BEING PLANNED IN ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN.
According to The Jerusalem Post, Axios, and the Financial Times, Pakistan is positioning itself as the lead mediator.
Pakistan’s army chief General Asim Munir spoke with Trump on Sunday.
A meeting between senior US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf is reportedly being planned in Islamabad.
Potentially as early as this week.
Ghalibaf is a former IRGC general, former mayor of Tehran, and a close associate of the new Supreme Leader.
He denied the talks publicly.
3. OIL DROPPED 8% IN MINUTES. THEN MARKETS RALLIED.
The moment Trump’s pause announcement hit, Brent crude fell more than 7% from $114 to below $99 a barrel.
US markets opened sharply higher — the S&P 500 gained more than 1% in its strongest session since the war began.
This is what a ceasefire trade looks like.
Brent was $71 on February 27. It hit $114 on Sunday.
The 5-day pause brought it back toward $99.
That is still 40% above where it started. The market is not celebrating peace. It is pricing in the possibility of peace. There is a difference.
4. THE IEA CHIEF CALLED THIS THE GREATEST ENERGY THREAT IN HUMAN HISTORY.
IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said Monday that the global economy faces a “major, major threat” from this war’s disruption to oil and gas flows.
He said the current crisis is worse than the 1973 and 1979 oil shocks combined.
“No country will be immune to the effects of this crisis if it continues to go in this direction,” Birol said.
He added that at least 40 energy facilities across nine countries have been severely damaged in the conflict.
And: “Only as of today, we lost 1” — the sentence cut off, but the data is clear. Nearly 20 million barrels per day of crude and product exports are currently disrupted.
5. IRAN DENIED EVERYTHING — AND KEPT FIRING.
While Tehran’s Foreign Ministry denied all talks, Iranian missiles and drones continued hitting Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the UAE and Bahrain throughout Monday.
The UAE’s Defense Ministry confirmed intercepting seven ballistic missiles and 16 drones on the day.
Since the war began, 352 ballistic missiles, 15 cruise missiles and 1,789 UAVs have been launched at the UAE alone.
Iran’s IRGC said it attacked the US Fifth Fleet in Bahrain. The firing did not slow down during the diplomatic pause.
6. ISRAEL LAUNCHED A “WIDE-SCALE WAVE” OF STRIKES ON TEHRAN — ON THE SAME DAY AS THE PAUSE.
While Trump announced a diplomatic pause, Israel struck Tehran on Monday morning anyway.
The IDF said it launched an “extensive wave of strikes targeting Iranian terror regime infrastructure.”
Targets included IRGC headquarters, weapons production sites and missile component storage facilities in the capital.
Israel has now struck over 200 targets this weekend alone. Netanyahu said Trump believes there is an opportunity to turn military gains into an agreement.
Israel’s message was clear: the pause is America’s — not theirs.
7. IRAN’S SENIOR MILITARY ADVISER SAID THE WAR CONTINUES UNTIL FULL COMPENSATION.
Mohsen Rezaei, senior military adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said Monday that the war will not end until Tehran receives “full compensation for damage it has sustained.”
Iran’s demands as relayed through mediators include: a permanent ceasefire, guarantees the war will not resume, and financial compensation.
The US position: Iran must surrender its enriched uranium, end its nuclear program, abandon its ballistic missile capability, and stop funding proxies.
The gap between these two positions is enormous.
8. UK PRIME MINISTER STARMER CALLED AN EMERGENCY ECONOMIC MEETING.
The economic shockwaves hit London hard enough on Monday that UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer called an emergency meeting to address the mounting economic fallout from the war.
European natural gas prices have jumped 60% since February 28.
The EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called publicly for “going to the negotiating table and ending the hostilities” — saying the situation is “critical for energy supply worldwide.”
The war started in the Middle East. The emergency meetings are now happening in London and Brussels.
9. US CENTCOM: THE STRAIT OF HORMUZ IS “PHYSICALLY OPEN.” SHIPS JUST WON’T GO THROUGH.
US Central Command Admiral Brad Cooper said Monday that the Strait of Hormuz is technically “physically open” but ships are not transiting because Iran continues firing missiles and drones at vessels.
He said the US has been “hunting and killing” Iranian watercraft used to attack shipping and that Iran’s military capabilities are “deteriorating.”
He described Iran as “operating in a sign of desperation,” saying they have deliberately attacked civilian targets more than 300 times in recent weeks.
10. THE HUMAN TOLL AT DAY 24.
– Over 1,047 Iranian civilians confirmed killed, including 214 children, per the US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency.
– At least 1,039 killed in Lebanon since March 2, including 118 children.
– 18 Israeli civilians killed.
– 13 US military service members killed.
– More than 4,700 Israelis injured.
– Approximately 5,000 Israelis displaced from their homes.
– Iran’s Red Crescent previously reported over 21,000 wounded in Iran.
– And Israel’s IDF Chief confirmed the campaign is still at its “halfway” stage.
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This is Day 24.
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(Robert Kiyosaki: Author, Rich Dad Poor Dad)