Donald Trump speaks to the media about talks with Iran. (Reuters: Kevin Lamarque)

In short:

Donald Trump has postponed strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure after what he says have been "very good and productive conversations" with Iran about ending the war.

But Iran denied those conversations took place, accusing the US of spreading "fake news" to "manipulate" the oil markets.

Israel has launched fresh strikes on Iran and Lebanon, while Iran has attacked the Gulf states.

US President Donald Trump has postponed strikes on Iran's energy infrastructure after what he says have been "productive" talks with Iran about ending the war, but Iran has denied those conversations have taken place.

Mr Trump gave Iran a 48-hour deadline to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying he would "obliterate" Iranian power plants.

Iran war live updates: For all the latest news on the war in the Middle East, read our blog.

He issued the ultimatum on Saturday evening, local time.

But as the deadline neared, Mr Trump took to his Truth Social platform to announce he would delay the attacks by five days due to "very good and productive conversations" that could result in a "complete and total resolution" in the war.

According to Mr Trump, those talks would continue "throughout the week".

Yet Iran denied US-Iran conversations ever occurred.

By moving so much of the war into the Strait of Hormuz and Persian Gulf, Tehran has hit its adversaries where it hurts the most and analysts warn that while the United States military is mighty, history shows in asymmetrical warfare, the lesser power can win the day.

Iran's foreign ministry said it had received messages through "friendly countries" about a request from the United States for talks, but denied any such negotiations had taken place since the start of the war.

"Over the past few days, messages were received through some friendly countries indicating a US request for negotiations aimed at ending the war," said foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei, according to the official IRNA news agency.

But he "denied any negotiations or talks with the United States during the past 24 days of the imposed war".

Iran accuses US of 'fake news'

Mr Trump did not specify who he had been talking with, but said regime change was underway in Iran and he was communicating with a "top person", but not Iranian Supreme Leader Motjaba Khamenei.

"We've wiped out the leadership phase one, phase two, and largely phase three," Mr Trump told reporters.

"But we're dealing with the man who I believe is the most respected and the leader."

Mr Trump said there were "major points of agreement" in the US-Iran talks, including Tehran giving up its nuclear ambitions and enriched uranium stockpile.

"All I'm saying is, we are in the throes of a real possibility of making a deal," Mr Trump said to reporters before boarding Air Force One.

"And I think, if I were a betting man I'd bet for it.

"But again, I'm not guaranteeing anything."

A residential building damaged by a strike in Tehran. (Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters)

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said "no negotiations" were held with the United States.

"No negotiations have been held with the US, and fake news is used to manipulate the financial and oil markets and escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped," Mr Ghalibaf said in a post on X.

Iran had earlier threatened to strike regional power plants and float mines in the Persian Gulf if the US acted on its threat to bomb Iranian energy stations.

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Gulf nations depend on the power plants, including to desalinate water for their citizens.

The president of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Mirjana Spoljaric, said in a statement that "deliberate attacks on essential services and civilian infrastructure can amount to war crimes".

Without naming any countries, she said the Middle East was "reaching a point of no return".

Israel launches new strikes on Tehran

Israel has also launched new attacks on the Iranian capital, with explosions reported in multiple locations.

Israel said it had "begun a wide-scale wave of strikes" on infrastructure targets in Tehran without immediately elaborating.

The United Arab Emirates reported its air defence had also attempted to intercept new incoming Iranian fire.

Israel had also targeted a bridge linking southern Lebanon with the eastern Bekaa region, state media reported, after warning it would hit the crossing.

Smoke and flames rise from an Israeli airstrike that hit the Qasmiyeh Bridge in Lebanon. (AP Photo/Mohammad Zaatari)

The strike was part of a series of attacks on bridges over Lebanon's Litani River, located around 30 kilometres north of Israel, including the key Qasmiyeh bridge on Sunday.

The Israeli military warned it would hit the bridge, alleging it was used by Iran-backed Hezbollah as the war between the two sides raged on.

The UN peacekeeping force headquarters in Lebanon (UNIFIL) has also been hit by a projectile, with peacekeepers "restricted to shelters to avoid injury".

Since Saturday, the coastal town of Naqura in Lebanon's far south on the border with Israel has been one of the flashpoints between Hezbollah and the Israeli military.

"Just before noon today, a projectile hit a building inside our headquarters," UNIFIL said in a statement.

"We believe it was fired by a non-state actor."

The UNIFIL statement said that "over the past 48 hours, peacekeepers have recorded intense gunfire and explosions" and "bullets, fragments, and shrapnel have hit buildings and open areas inside our headquarters".

A firefighter hoses down rubble at a residential building in Tehran. (AP Photo/Vahid Salemi)

Gulf states hit as UK sends support

Iran has fired two missiles and 36 drones at Bahrain over the past day, according to Bahrain's defense ministry.

Several strong explosions and air alert sirens have also rung out in Bahrain since Mr Trump said talks to end the war with Iran were underway.

The UK has sent short-range air-defence systems to the Gulf to counter Iranian missile attacks, according to the country's prime minister, Sir Keir Starmer.

"We're deploying short-range air-defence systems to Bahrain at speed," Sir Keir told a parliamentary committee, adding that Britain was "doing the same with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia".

Oil prices react immediately to strait talks

Iran's chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz has wreaked havoc on the world's energy markets, pushing up prices of food and fuel among other items.

World leaders have failed to grasp the depth of the energy crisis created by the Iran war, the head of the International Energy Agency has warned, as he considers releasing extra emergency oil stores.

Iranian attacks have effectively closed the shipping channel, which carries a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas.

Mr Trump said the strait would be "opened very soon" if the talks worked.

Oil prices were stubbornly high in early trading on Monday, but plunged after Mr Trump's announcement.

The price of Brent crude fell as low as $US96 immediately but quickly recovered some of that loss.

Israel's artillery fire kills own citizen

The Israeli military has confirmed its own artillery fire killed an Israeli civilian on Sunday near the northern border with Lebanon.

After opening an investigation, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) said "the initial findings suggested that the Israeli civilian was killed by IDF artillery fire conducted to support IDF soldiers operating in southern Lebanon".

The Times of Israel has identified the civilian as 60-year-old farmer Ofer Moskovitz, and reported that Hezbollah had initially claimed responsibility for his killing.

The IDF added that "several severe issues and operational errors took place during the incident, including both the planning and execution of the fire".

War's death toll climbs

More than 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, 15 in Israel and 13 US military members, as well as a number of civilians on land and sea in the Gulf region.

Iran has not updated its official death toll figures for weeks, while human rights groups outside the country are struggling with communication problems, meaning the number of people killed during the war remains largely unknown.

Millions of people in Lebanon and Iran have been displaced.

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