US President Donald Trump announced that discussions are ongoing with Iran to “determine whether a broader agreement can be reached”, saying that “this time, Iran means business; they want to settle. They want peace”.

Tehran denied that talks with the US are taking place, with Iran’s parliamentary speaker saying such claims are “fake news” and being “used to manipulate financial and oil markets”.

Oil prices dropped by about 11 percent after Trump announced a delay to attacks on Iran’s power plants for five days amid his claims of talks.

Despite Trump’s comments, US Central Command says US forces “continue to aggressively strike” targets in Iran, as Iranian missiles and drones continued to target Gulf countries – including Bahrain, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait – overnight.
Visit our live tracker for the latest casualty figures from across the region.