Iran fires missiles at Israel hours after Trump hails 'constructive' talks

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A wave of missiles was fired at Israel on Monday, a day after Donald Trump declared peace talks with Tehran had been "good and constructive".

Israeli police said widespread damage to buildings and vehicles was caused by the missiles, which included a munition carrying some 100 kilograms of explosives.

Read more: British man jailed in Iran criticises Government for abandonment in war zone

Read more: Iran threatens to send price of oil soaring - as Trump sets deadline for reopening Strait of Hormuz to all shipping

Air raid sirens and blasts from interceptions could be heard across Tel Aviv, with six people said to have been lightly injured in the strikes.

Iran also hit the Eilat area in southern Israel, as well as the cities of Dimona and Yeruham.

The attack comes after Mr Trump wrote on the Truth Social platform on Monday that the US and Iran had held 'very good and productive' conversations about a "complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East".

The US President's Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff has travelled to Pakistan for peace talks with Iran after the US President postponed his threatened strikes on Tehran's power plants.

Mr Witkoff, a key figure in the Trump administration, has offered to host in-person talks after the American leader told Iran's rulers that they had "one more chance" to make a deal to end the war.

Mr Trump had threatened strikes on the Iranian capital unless it reopened the Strait of Hormuz, but extended a 48-hour deadline he imposed on Saturday to reassure global markets.

But there is no sign of any meaningful Iranian figure joining Mr Witkoff in Pakistan and the Strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil usually flows, is still in effect closed by Iran.

Iran responded to Mr Trump's threats on Sunday by saying if its plants were targeted then energy infrastructure "across the entire region" would be "irreversibly destroyed".

The regime then revealed this morning the eight Persian Gulf energy sites it will strike, via Iran's Fars News Agency.

Brent crude swiftly fell 10% to stand at just over $101 a barrel following the post on Trump's Truth Social platform, having earlier hit around $114 a barrel.

In a typo-ridden post on Truth Social, the US president said the pause will last for five days but added that it depends on "the success of the ongoing meetings and discussions".

But there is no sign a meaningful Iranian figure will be joining the talks in Pakistan and the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil usually flows, is still in effect closed.

“All I’m saying is we are in the throes of a real possibility of making a deal,” Trump said before boarding Air Force One for an event in Memphis, Tennessee. “I think if I were a betting man I’d bet for it. But again, I’m not guaranteeing anything.”

Trump's claims of negotiations have been directly contradicted by officials from within Iran.

The speaker of the Iranian parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, called the Trump administration's claims of talks "fake news".

In a message posted on Telegram by Fars News Agency, sources further appeared to reject Donald Trump's claims of 'major points of agreement' between the US and Iran.

The message reads: "Informed officials in Iran announced that there were no negotiations and emphasized that until the US completely withdrew, evacuated its bases in the region, paid compensation, and received valid guarantees not to repeat the aggression, neither would the war end nor would the Strait of Hormuz be reopened.

"According to this report, even after the possible end of the war, the situation in the Strait of Hormuz will not return to the pre-war situation."

The conflicting reports have confused many, with President Trump going as far as to say the US would “keep bombing its little heart out” if a peace agreement isn’t reached.

Benjamin Netanyahu re-affirmed that Israel would continue strikes on Iran and in Lebanon as well.

The Israeli prime minister said: “President Trump believes there is a chance to leverage the tremendous achievements of the IDF and the US military in order to realise the war’s objectives in an agreement - an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests. We will protect our vital interests under any circumstances."

Asked whether Witkoff was seeking talks with Iran in Pakistan, Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, said: “This is a fluid situation, and speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House.”

More than 2,000 people have been killed since the U.S. and Israel launched their war on February 28.

In financial markets, the UK's blue chip share index swung from more than 2.3% lower at one stage to stand 0.7% higher, up 67.7 points at 9986.

Oil prices have also eased back and London's FTSE 100 Index reversed early session falls after Trump announced the pause.

Trump yesterday suggested he could jointly run the Strait of Hormuz with the Iranian Ayatollah when it fully reopens to the world.

Asked who would in charge of the key waterway in any deal to end the conflict, Trump said: "maybe me, me and... whoever the next ayatollah (is)."

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer headed an emergency Cobra meeting on Monday after a call on Sunday with Trump to discuss reopening the Strait of Hormuz shipping route after they both agreed it was “essential” to stabilising global energy markets.

Sir Keir was asked whether targets in Britain could be hit. He replied that there was currently “no assessment that we’re being targeted.”

“We carry out assessments all the time in order to keep us safe, and there's no assessment that we're being targeted in that way at all.

“But of course, it's my job to ensure that British interests, British lives are always uppermost in my mind.

“What we need here is de-escalation, and that's why we had a statement from a number of countries last week about what we need to do about the Strait of Hormuz, which obviously needs careful coordination and a viable plan."