U.S. President Donald Trump said “meaningful progress” has been made toward ending the war in Iran, while warning that Washington could target and “completely obliterate” key infrastructure — including power plants, oil fields and Kharg Island — if a deal is not reached soon.

In a Truth Social post, Trump disclosed that the U.S. is engaged in “serious discussions with a new, and more reasonable, regime,” marking the first public signal of a potential leadership shift in Tehran since the conflict began five weeks ago. His reference to a “new regime” suggests negotiations are taking place with a governing structure that was not in place when the war started in late February.

Trump also called for the Strait of Hormuz to be “immediately open for business” and warned that energy and utility infrastructure could be targeted if talks fail. He added that desalination facilities are also under consideration — sites that had previously been avoided throughout the conflict.

The dual messaging presents a complex signal for markets. On one hand, talks with a new leadership and claims of progress point toward possible de-escalation. On the other, the explicit threat to critical civilian and energy infrastructure underscores the risk of escalation if negotiations break down.

Crypto markets reacted positively to the developments. Bitcoin climbed above $67,600, marking a 1.3% gain over the past 24 hours. Ether led the move higher, rising 3.1% to around $2,070. Solana gained 1.9% to $84.09, while XRP advanced 1% to $1.35. Despite the rebound, weekly performance remains in the red for most major tokens, with bitcoin down 1.3%, XRP 1.2%, and solana 2.2%. Tron continued to outperform, posting a 1.3% daily gain and rising 5.3% on the week.

The rally triggered a wave of short liquidations. According to CoinGlass data, $9.32 million in short positions were wiped out within an hour, compared with just $207,000 in long liquidations.

Over a 24-hour period, total liquidations reached $340 million, with $242.25 million occurring during the earlier downturn before Trump’s announcement. The largest single liquidation was a $9.8 million BTCUSD position on Bybit.