Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, the Israeli military said, after U.S. President Donald Trump postponed a threat to bomb the Islamic Republic's power grid because of what he described as productive talks with Iranian officials.
The missiles triggered air raid sirens in parts of Israel, including Tel Aviv where blasts from interceptions were heard. In one attack, homes in northern Israel were damaged by falling debris following an interception. No deaths were reported.
Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday that the U.S. and Iran had held "very good and productive" conversations about a "complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East".
As a result, he said, he was postponing for five days a plan to hit Iran's energy grid. His announcement sent share prices higher and oil prices sharply lower to below $100 a barrel, a sudden reversal to a market swoon caused by his weekend threats and Iran's vows to respond.
Those gains were in jeopardy on Tuesday however, after Iran's powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf - who an Israeli official and two other sources familiar with the matter said was the interlocutor in the talks on the Iranian side - said no negotiations had taken place.
"No negotiations have been held with the U.S., and fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped," he wrote on X.
Iran's elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said they were launching fresh attacks on U.S. targets, and described Trump's words as "psychological operations" that were "worn out" and having no impact on Tehran's fight.
Global markets rallied in relief overnight Monday after Trump added five days to his Saturday ultimatum for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz - a conduit for about 20% of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas - within 48 hours.
But on Tuesday those gains were under threat as markets weighed the conflicting messages from Tehran and Washington. U.S. Treasury yields pushed higher and the dollar regained lost ground as the world continues to grapple with an energy shock triggered by Iran's threat to shipping in the strait.
Brent crude futures were up 4.2% to $104.21 a barrel, reversing some of their 10% slide from Monday, while U.S. crude rose 4.3% to $91.93 per barrel.
"The underlying situation is still incredibly fragile or flammable," said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore.
Trump told reporters his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had been negotiating with Iran before the war, had held discussions with a top Iranian official into the evening on Sunday and would continue on Monday.
"We have had very, very strong talks. We'll see where they lead. We have major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement," he said on Monday.
A European official said that while there had been no direct negotiations between the two nations, Egypt, Pakistan and Gulf states were relaying messages.
A Pakistani official and a second source told Reuters that direct talks on ending the war could be held in Islamabad as soon as this week.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a video statement that he spoke with Trump on Monday and that Israel would press on with attacks in Lebanon and Iran.
But Netanyahu said Trump believed there was a possibility of "leveraging the mighty achievements obtained by the IDF (Israel Defense Forces) and the U.S. military, in order to realise the goals of the war in a deal - a deal that will preserve our vital interests."
Although there was no immediate confirmation that talks had taken place as described by Trump, Iran's foreign ministry described initiatives to reduce tensions.
It said Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had reviewed developments related to the Strait of Hormuz with his Omani counterpart and agreed to continue consultations between the two countries.
The Pakistani official said U.S. Vice President JD Vance, as well as Witkoff and Kushner, were expected to meet Iranian officials in Islamabad this week, following a call between Trump and Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir.
The White House confirmed Trump's call with Munir. The Pakistani prime minister's office and foreign ministry did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Iranian media reported that Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed the impact of the war on regional and global security.
Iran has effectively closed the key Strait of Hormuz since the United States and Israel launched their war on the country on 28 February. More than 2,000 people have been killed in the war.
Iran had responded to Trump's threats to strike its power plants by saying it would hammer the infrastructure of U.S. allies in the Middle East, raising the prospect that an extreme disruption to global energy supplies could last longer than previously expected.
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Nine suspects have been formally arrested over last week’s gun attack near Israel’s consulate in Istanbul, judicial officials have said. The assault left one attacker dead and two Turkish police officers lightly wounded.
Hungary’s political landscape is entering a new phase after voters brought an end to the long rule of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, with analysts pointing to economic discontent and governing fatigue rather than a decisive ideological break.
The reopening of Azerbaijan’s embassy in Iran reflects the “special relationship” between the two countries, a regional expert has said.
U.S. President Donald Trump forcefully criticised Pope Leo XIV late on Sunday in an unusually direct attack on the leader of the global Catholic Church, triggering a backlash from religious leaders and believers worldwide.
Hungarians vote in elections on Sunday that could see the end of hard right nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s more than 15 year rule. Opinion polls show Orbán’s Fidesz party trailing 45-year-old Péter Magyar’s centre-right opposition Tisza party.
U.S. and Iranian negotiators held their highest-level talks in half a century in Pakistan on Saturday in an effort to end their six-week war, as President Donald Trump said the U.S. military had begun the process of clearing the Strait of Hormuz.
At least 30 people were killed on Saturday in a stampede at Haiti’s Laferrière Citadel World Heritage Site, with authorities warning that the death toll could rise.
Israel has reprimanded Spain’s most senior diplomat in Tel Aviv after a giant effigy of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was blown up in a Spanish town.
Nine suspects were arrested on Saturday (11 April) in connection with a terror attack targeting a police post in Istanbul’s Beşiktaş district.
Nine suspects have been formally arrested over last week’s gun attack near Israel’s consulate in Istanbul, judicial officials have said. The assault left one attacker dead and two Turkish police officers lightly wounded.
The reopening of Azerbaijan’s embassy in Iran reflects the “special relationship” between the two countries, a regional expert has said.
Cement maker Lafarge was found guilty by a French court on Monday (13 April) of paying millions to jihadist groups, including ISIS, to keep a plant running during the Syrian civil war.
Afghanistan’s Foreign Ministry said on Sunday that talks with Pakistan had been positive, while Türkiye stressed the importance of stronger ties between Kabul and Islamabad.
South Korea is close to finalising an agreement to import crude oil from Kazakhstan, according to Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, as the country seeks to diversify its energy supplies amid disruptions in the Middle East, he said on Sunday, 12 April, according to Reuters.
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