|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
by WILL FOLKS
***
With domestic resistance to the Iran War building – and the global economy reeling from the aftershocks associated with the conflict – U.S. president Donald Trump announced early Monday that his administration was making progress in its negotiations to end the costly, unpopular and undeclared war.
“I am pleased to report that the United States of America, and the country of Iran, have had, over the last two days, very good and productive conversations regarding a complete and total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social page.
The commander-in-chief added that he had instructed America’s military to temporarily cease strikes against Iranian energy infrastructure while the negotiations continued.
“Based on the tenor and tone of these in-depth, detailed and constructive conversations, which will continue throughout the week, I have instructed the Department of War to postpone any and all military strikes against Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for a five-day period, subject to the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions.”
***
Iran’s state-supported news agency immediately challenged the veracity of Trump’s statement, saying its leaders have had “no indirect or direct communication with links to the Trump administration.”
“There is no direct contact with Trump, not even through intermediaries,” the agency reported.
According to Iran, “Trump backed off after hearing that our targets would be all power plants in West Asia.”
Trump’s announcement came less than two hours ahead of the opening of American stock markets – turning what was forecast to be a calamitous day into an unexpected rally. It also came just twelve hours prior to the expiration of his 48-hour deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
This narrow passageway between the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman – 21 miles wide at its narrowest point – handles a third of the world’s liquefied natural gas and 20 percent of its oil, making it one of the most critical commercial chokepoints in the entire world. The Strait has been shut down since the beginning of the conflict, sending oil prices surging.
***
RELATED | TRUMP’S TREASURY SECRETARY POKES FUN AT NANCY MACE’S ‘TITS’
***
On Saturday evening at 7:44 p.m. EDT, Trump demanded Iran “fully open, without threat” the chokepoint within forty-eight hours “from this exact point in time.” Otherwise, Trump vowed, America would “hit and obliterate their various power plants, starting with the biggest one first!”
Launched by the United States and Israel on February 28, the war has exposed deep divides within Trump’s MAGA base – and has sent Trump’s already anemic approval ratings to fresh lows.
According to aggregate polling data compiled by RealClear Polling, Trump’s disapproval rating climbed to 56% on Monday (March 23, 2026) – the highest reading of his second term. Meanwhile, his approval rating slipped to 41.6%, the lowest reading of his second term. Trump’s approval gap is now -14.4%.
Keep it tuned to FITSNews as we keep tabs on the latest major developments in the conflict… and their political fallout.
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR…
Will Folks is the founding editor of the news outlet you are currently reading. Prior to founding FITSNews, he served as press secretary to the governor of South Carolina. He lives in the Midlands region of the state with his wife and eight children.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
3 comments
Donnie is the little toddler in those car-shaped grocery carts. He thinks he’s driving the car when he jerks the wheel back and forth, but Bibi is pushing him around the store.
Yep, he’s totally pointing the wheel towards the exit guys! Any minute now we’ll be out of the store and on the way home, right? …right?
He started a war to stop us from talking about Epstein, and it did not go as planned. Like Putin in Ukraine, he expected capitulation in days. Now we are spending over a billion dollars every day, gas is going through the roof, and the Department of “WAR ” wants another two hundred billion dollars. Of course, he wants an off-ramp. But being who he is, he can only accept one that he can claim makes him the best President in history.
When asked this morning who would control the Straits of Hormuz, the first response he went to was “me.” Not the US, not the American people, not the international community, not Iran. Me. Everything belongs to him. That is how kings view the world.
Funny how just the other day he said all the leaders in Iran have been killed. Who is he talking to?
This is just a toddler manipulating the stock and gas markets. I can’r believe that anyone who has 2 neurons to rub together still supports this insane schmuck.