President Trump claimed on Truth Social that the U.S. and Iran had held “very good and productive conversations” over the past two days regarding a “complete and total resolution” of hostilities in the Middle East. Based on these discussions, he said he instructed the Department of War to postpone military strikes on Iranian power plants and energy infrastructure for five days, pending the outcome of ongoing talks.

"I AM PLEASE 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. BASED ON THE TENOR AND TONE OF THESE IN DEPTH, DETAILED, AND CONSTRUCTIVE CONVERSATIONS, WITCH 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. THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION TO THIS MATTER! PRESIDENT DONALD J. TRUMP" the president wrote Monday.

Over the weekend, Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum demanding Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face obliteration of its power grid. Iran responded with counter-threats, escalating global energy tensions.

Backing down Monday, Trump told reporters that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner had engaged in intense discussions with a senior Iranian official, possibly linked to parliament speaker Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf. He said there were “major points of agreement,” including Iran committing not to pursue nuclear weapons and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Also U.S. officials had reportedly asked Pakistani and Turkish officials for help in arranging a meeting between Vice President JD Vance and Ghalibaf. Iranian officials no longer trust Witkoff and Kushner.

Iran’s foreign ministry called Trump's remarks “part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time” for military plans. Officials stated there were no direct or indirect communications with the U.S., labeling Trump’s claims as “psychological warfare” and “fake news.”

State television broadcasting claimed “the US president backs down following Iran's firm warning.” An unnamed security official said Trump retreated after Iran threatened to target all power, IT, and desalination infrastructure in the Gulf region, and even **shut down the Strait of Hormuz if attacked.

Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, a key figure in Iran’s war effort, echoed the denial on X, calling the reports of talks "fake news."

"Iranian people demand complete and remorseful punishment of the aggressors," Ghalibaf wrote. "All Irainan officials stand firmly behind their supreme leader and people until this goal is achieved. No negotiations have been held with the US, and fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped."

Despite the denials, regional backchannel efforts are underway, with countries like Egypt and Pakistan attempting to mediate. Trump’s announcement caused oil prices to drop over 13% and financial markets to rally, reflecting investor response to the prospect of de-escalation. However, Iranian state media and officials maintain that no talks are occurring, and that Trump’s statements are a tactical maneuver rather than evidence of diplomacy.

Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed he spoke with Trump and Vance about the diplomatic efforts. Netanyahu said Trump believed the military gains from the war could be leveraged into a deal that would safeguard Israel’s vital interests. However, Netanyahu emphasized that Israeli strikes on Iran and Lebanon would continue, targeting missile and nuclear programs and Hezbollah.

Oil prices plunged over 13%, with Brent crude falling below $100, and U.S. stock indices surged after Trump’s announcement—only to pull back sharply when Iran denied talks, creating volatility.

The ongoing war began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, 2026**, which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and top military leaders.

Elon Musk officially unveiled the Terafab project at the defunct Seaholm Power Plant in Austin, Texas, marking a joint venture between Tesla, SpaceX, and xAI to build what Musk described as “the most epic chip building exercise in history by far.” The $20–25 billion initiative aims to vertically integrate the entire semiconductor production process—design, lithography, fabrication, memory production, advanced packaging, and testing—under one roof, targeting one terawatt of compute capacity annually.

Terafab aims to manufacture terrestrial chips for Tesla’s Full Self-Driving vehicles, Cybercab robotaxis, and the Optimus humanoid robot, with production volumes expected to be 10 to 100 times higher than Tesla cars.

The chip fabrication plant will also produce D3 chips, a radiation-hardened variant designed for space environments, to power a future fleet of one million AI data center satellites in low Earth orbit.

Terafab's goals include Space-based AI computing, leveraging constant solar energy in orbit to reduce costs—Musk said that once launch costs drop sufficiently, “putting AI in space becomes a no-brainer.”

Musk emphasized the project's urgency: “We either build the Terafab or we don’t have the chips, and we need the chips, so we build the Terafab.” He framed the project as a necessity due to projected global chip shortages, with demand from Optimus robots alone requiring 100–200 gigawatts of compute, and AI satellites needing terawatts—exceeding current global production capacity.

"If you add up all the fabs on earth combined, they're only about 2% of what we need for the Terra fab project," Musk said. "We're very grateful to our existing supply chain, to Samsung, TSMC, and others, and we would like them to expand as quickly as they can, and we will buy all of their chips. I have said these exact words to them, and there's a maximum rate at which they're comfortable expanding, but that rate is much less than we would like, So we're gonna build the Terafab."

Terafab is a capstone to Musk’s broader vision of a multi-planetary and galactic civilization, integrating Tesla’s solar manufacturing push, SpaceX’s Starship rocket development, and xAI’s AI ambitions.

SpaceX acquired xAI in February 2026, and Tesla has invested $2 billion in xAI, aligning the companies under a unified AI and hardware strategy.

The project faces surmountable obstacles due to Musk’s lack of semiconductor manufacturing experience, but it reflects a strategic move to bypass reliance on TSMC, Samsung, and Micron. Success hinges on regulatory approvals, engineering execution, and the ability to scale production to 70% of TSMC’s current global output. The Tesla CEO is known to take on and deliver on ambitious projects and surprising his critics.

Iranian missile strikes targeted southern Israeli cities Dimona and Arad, Saturday, following U.S. and Israeli attacks on Iran’s Natanz uranium enrichment facility and the Bushehr nuclear power plant. Iranian state media confirmed the missile barrage was a response to these strikes, which Tehran said targeted critical nuclear infrastructure.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) confirmed damage at Natanz and a projectile impact near Bushehr, with no reported radiation leaks.

Dimona hosts the Shimon Peres Negev Nuclear Research Center, widely believed to be the core of Israel’s undeclared nuclear weapons program. Although the nuclear facility itself was not damaged, multiple missiles struck residential areas, and dozens were injured across two southern Israeli cities Dimona and Arad, including a 12-year-old boy in serious condition and others suffering from shrapnel wounds and blast-related injuries.

The IDF admitted failure to intercept the incoming missiles, triggering an investigation into the breach of Israel’s multi-layered air defense.

Iran claimed the use of hypersonic-capable missiles, signaling a major escalation by demonstrating the ability to penetrate advanced defense systems. The strike marked a shift toward nuclear-associated strategic targeting, raising global concerns about a potential nuclear-shadow conflict. Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf called it a "new phase" of warfare, asserting that Israel’s skies were no longer impenetrable. Iran also targeted energy infrastructure in Gulf states.

Hezbollah joined the escalation, launching rocket barrages into northern Israel, injuring at least 19 people and striking homes in border towns.

The U.S.-UK military base on Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean was targeted with two intermediate-range ballistic missiles. One missile failed mid-flight, and the other was intercepted by a U.S. warship, according to U.S. officials. Iran denied involvement in the srikes. British officials and NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte say they “cannot confirm” Israel’s assessment that the missiles were fired by Iran. War experts online suspect it was a 'false flag' operation from an Israeli submarine designed to 'drag NATO' into the war.

The UK has authorized the U.S. to use RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire and the joint UK-US base to conduct limited defensive operations against Iranian missile sites targeting commercial shipping in the Strait of Hormuz. This marks a significant policy shift by Prime Minister Keir Starmer’s government, which had previously restricted U.S. use of these bases to defensive actions protecting British interests.

After initially resisting U.S. requests for broader access, citing legal and strategic concerns, Starmer reversed course amid growing pressure and insults by President Trump. The UK government framed the authorization under the principle of collective self-defense, emphasizing that the operations are aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in one of the world’s most critical oil transit routes.

Trump criticized the UK’s decision as a “very late response." Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi condemned the UK’s decision, accusing Starmer of “putting British lives in danger” and asserting Iran’s right to self-defense.

Diego Garcia lies approximately 3,795 km from Iran and hosts long-range bombers, nuclear submarines, and missile defence systems. Its strategic location makes it a critical hub for U.S. and UK military operations in the Indo-Pacific and Middle East. The island is also at the center of ongoing negotiations to transfer sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius, with the UK retaining a long-term lease for military use—a plan opposed by Trump and Republican lawmakers.

Iran’s ability to target such a distant base has raised concerns about its missile capabilities, with independent analysts suggesting Tehran possesses systems with ranges up to 4,000 km, far exceeding its official 2,000 km limit.

Israel and the U.S. intensified strikes on Iran, with Central Command reporting over 8,000 targets hit, including missile storage sites, naval assets, and facilities linked to ballistic missile development. Israeli forces also struck Malek Ashtar University in Tehran, a site tied to Iran’s military nuclear research.

The conflict has driven oil prices to their highest level since 2022, and the G7 called for an immediate cessation of attacks, warning of global energy and security risks. The IAEA urged restraint, emphasizing the dangers of military actions near nuclear sites.

"If Iran doesn’t FULLY OPEN, WITHOUT THREAT, the Strait of Hormuz, within 48 HOURS from this exact point in time, the United States of America will hit and obliterate their various POWER PLANTS, STARTING WITH THE BIGGEST ONE FIRST! Thank you for your attention to this matter,"  Trump wrote on Truth Social late Saturday. Iranian commanders have threaten retaliation.