Iran launched waves of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, the Israeli military said, a day after US President Donald Trump said there had ​been “very good and productive” talks aiming at halting the conflict raging across the Middle East.

Three senior Israeli officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Trump appeared determined to reach a deal, ‌but that they thought it highly unlikely that Iran would agree to US demands in any new round of negotiations.

After Trump’s Truth Social comment on Monday, Iran said no talks had yet been held.

Iran’s embassy in South Africa posted an image on X showing a child’s pink steering wheel placed on a car dashboard in front of the passenger seat, apparently mocking Trump’s idea, aired to reporters, that he could control the Strait of Hormuz alongside Iran’s supreme leader.

Radical Israeli regime leader Benjamin Netanyahu, who spoke to Trump less ​than 48 hours before their countries began the war, was expected to convene a meeting of security officials for talks on Trump’s bid for a deal with Iran, two senior Israeli officials said.

The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 after saying they had failed to ⁠make enough headway in talks aimed at ending Iran’s nuclear programme, even though mediator Oman said significant progress had been made.

The crisis has escalated across the Middle East. Iran has attacked countries that host US bases, struck ​key energy infrastructure and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.

Air and sirens in Tel Aviv

On Tuesday, Iranian missiles triggered air raid sirens in Israel’s biggest city, ​Tel Aviv, where gaping holes were torn through a multi-storey apartment building.

It was not immediately clear if the damage had been caused by a direct hit or debris from an interception.

Israel’s Fire and Rescue Service said they were searching for civilians trapped in one building in Tel Aviv and discovered civilians in a shelter in another damaged building.

Israel’s military said its fighter jets had carried out a large wave of strikes in central Tehran on Monday, targeting key command centres, including facilities associated with the ​Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence arm and the Intelligence Ministry.

It said it had also hit more than 50 other targets overnight, including ballistic missile storage and launch sites.

Air defence systems were activated across Tehran as explosions were ​heard simultaneously in several areas of the capital, according to the Iranian news agency Nournews.

Trump said on Monday he was postponing for five days a plan to attack Iran’s power plants unless it reopened the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran had promised to ‌respond to such ⁠attacks by hammering the infrastructure of US allies in the Middle East.

Iran denies negotiations with US

Trump’s step back sent share prices higher and oil prices sharply lower to below $100 a barrel, a sudden reversal to a market swoon caused by his weekend threats and Iran’s vows to respond.

Those gains were in jeopardy on Tuesday, however, after Iran’s powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf — the interlocutor on the Iranian side, according to an Israeli official and two other sources familiar with the matter - said no talks had taken place.

“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,” he ​wrote on X.

Iran’s foreign ministry did, however, mention initiatives to ​reduce tensions.

US Treasury yields pushed higher, and the ⁠dollar regained lost ground as the world continues to grapple with what the International Energy Agency has called the biggest-ever disruption to energy supplies.

Brent crude futures rose to over $100 a barrel, reversing some of their 10% slide from Monday, while US crude rose 4.3% to $91.93 per barrel.

“The underlying situation is still incredibly fragile or flammable,” said IG ​market analyst Tony Sycamore.