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 LCOc1 were up 4.2% to $104.21 a barrel, reversing some of their 10% slide from Monday, while U.S. crude CLc1 rose 4.3% to $91.93 per barrel.
“The underlying situation is still incredibly fragile or flammable,” said IG market analyst Tony Sycamore.