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Smoke rose from central Tel Aviv as Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israel and Gulf Arab states Tuesday, even as U.S. President Donald Trump said the U.S. was in talks with the Islamic Republic to end the war.
Trump also delayed a deadline for Iran to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz for shipping or see its power stations targeted by airstrikes, briefly driving down oil prices and boosting stocks.
The delay offered a reprieve after the U.S. and Iran traded threats over the weekend of strikes that could have cut electricity to millions in Iran and around the Gulf and knocked out desalination plants that provide many desert nations with drinking water, while raising fears of possible catastrophe if nuclear plants were hit.
But any information on the talks described by Trump remain in dispute with Iran, which denied any talks had been held.
“No negotiations have been held with the US,” Iranian parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf posted on X, adding that “fakenews is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu also said Israel will continue to strike Iran and Lebanon even as the U.S. considers a ceasefire.
“There’s more to come,” he said.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has been talking about the war this week to his counterparts in Azerbaijan, Egypt, Oman, Pakistan, Russia, South Korea, Turkey and Turkmenistan, his office said.
Emergency personnel work at at building struck by an Iranian missile in Tel Aviv on Tuesday.
(Ronen Zvulun/Reuters)
Iran fired multiple waves of missiles at Israel early on Tuesday, with reports of an impact in the country’s north.
In Tel Aviv, a missile with a 100-kilogram warhead slammed into a street in the centre of the city, blowing out windows of a neighbouring apartment building and sending smoke billowing.
“We saw destruction, smoke, and chaos,” rescue service worker Yoel Moshe told reporters, recalling his arrival at the scene. Four people suffered minor wounds and rescuers were searching the area for others, he said.
Emerging from the shelter, Amir Hasid said he expected the scene to be far worse. “It feels like you’re a (sitting) duck, waiting for the missiles to hit you, or someone next to you,” he said.
Earlier in the day, Israel pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs saying that it was targeting infrastructure used by the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group.
Strike kills 2 in Lebanon
A strike on a residential apartment southeast of the Lebanese capital killed at least two people, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
In Kuwait, power lines were hit from air defence shrapnel, causing partial electricity outages in several hours. Missile alert sirens sounded in Bahrain, and Saudi Arabia’s Defence Ministry said it had destroyed 19 Iranian drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.
Oil prices briefly fell below $100 US a barrel after Trump claimed his government was in talks to end the war. But that respite was short lived, with the price of Brent crude, the international standard, back to $104 US a barrel in morning trading, up more than 40 per cent since Israel and the U.S. started the war on Feb. 28.
Iran has allowed a small number of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, but has said it will continue to target vessels linked to the U.S., Israel or its allies. (Reuters)
Trump initially set a deadline of late Monday, Washington time, for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on its power plants, but on Monday he gave Tehran five more days to comply.
Iran has allowed a small number of ships through the strait, which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, but has said it will continue to target vessels linked to the U.S., Israel or its allies.
WATCH | Trump pauses threat to bomb Iran’s power plants:
Iran denies Trump’s claim about talks to end war
Iran quickly denied U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim that the U.S. has been talking with a ‘respected’ Iranian leader about a deal to end the war. Meanwhile, Trump extended a deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, giving a boost to oil prices.
