TEHRAN : Iran launched a new wave of missiles against Israel Tuesday, hours after US President Donald Trump hailed "very good" talks to end the war despite Tehran denying any dialogue had taken place.
Trump's surprise disclosure -- which prompted a positive response from jittery markets and pushed oil prices down -- came ahead of a deadline he imposed for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane or see the US "obliterate" its power plants.
Trump said his administration was speaking with an unidentified "top person", while warning if talks failed in the next five days "we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out".
Axios, citing an unnamed Israeli official, identified Trump's interlocutor as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran's speaker of parliament and one of its most prominent non-clerical figures.
The outlet reported US negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may meet an Iranian delegation for talks in Pakistan as soon as this week, with Vice President JD Vance possibly joining.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt did not deny the reports, saying "speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House".
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said Monday he spoke with Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, promising Islamabad's help to bring peace to the region.
But Ghalibaf said on X that "no negotiations" were underway, insisting Trump was seeking "to manipulate the financial and oil markets".
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said messages were received from "some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war", but denied any such talks had taken place, Iran's official IRNA agency reported.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken to Trump and acknowledged Washington thought a deal was possible, but vowed to continue striking Iran and Lebanon to protect Israel.
"Trump believes there is a chance to leverage the tremendous achievements of the IDF and the US military... in an agreement," he said.
Early Tuesday, state-run Iranian media reported another round of missiles fired at Israel, and rescue services there showed images of a damaged building in the north but reported no casualties.
Lebanese state media said Israel carried out seven air raids on south Beirut overnight.
Trump blinked
On Monday, Iran's neighbours breathed a sigh of relief after Trump stepped back from his threat to target the country's power infrastructure.
Tehran had vowed to deploy naval mines and strike power and water infrastructure across the region in retaliation, threatening to escalate an energy crisis of already historic proportions.
"Trump blinked first -- out of a clear understanding that striking Iran's energy infrastructure would trigger a direct and significant retaliation," Danny Citrinowicz, a security analyst and former Israeli intelligence Iran expert, wrote on X.
Thousands of US Marines are headed to the Middle East, reinforcing America's presence following weekend speculation Trump was mulling ground operations either to seize Iranian oil assets or to forcibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz.