24.3.2026
Iran Tuesday hauled missiles at several Israeli targets after denying it negotiated with the US for a deescalation of the 12 days old conflict.
US President Donald Trump had announced that there were talks ongoing to roll back the war, it started with his Israeli Prime Minister ally Benjamin Netanyahu, but missiles rained down in central Tel Aviv and drones targeted Gulf Arab states Tuesday.
“No negotiations have been held with the US,” Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf 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 US considers a ceasefire.
“There’s more to come,” he said.
Oil prices briefly fell below US$100 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 US$104 a barrel in morning trading, up more than 40 per cent since Israel and the US started the war on February 28.
The US bombed the island in the Persian Gulf more than a week ago, hitting its defences but saying it had left oil infrastructure intact.
Iran has threatened that if the US appears to be on the verge of landing troops it could mine the Persian Gulf, which would complicate an amphibious assault and also imperil all shipping in the area.
Iran’s death toll has surpassed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said. In Israel, 15 people have been killed by Iranian strikes. At least 13 US military members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.