Tehran and Washington on March 24 continued to give mixed signals over the talks to end the war in Iran, after hopes rose that the conflict could begin winding down despite attacks.
Iran fired a fresh broadside of missiles at Israel on March 24, causing damage and injuries in Tel Aviv, as uncertainty swirled over possible talks to end the three-week Middle East war.
AFP images showed rubble-strewn streets and the side of a building in Israel's commercial hub in ruins, as first responders scrambled to assist at least four people lightly injured at four different locations.
Iranian media reported U.S.-Israeli warplanes had struck two gas facilities and a pipeline, hours after President Donald Trump stepped back from his threat to attack energy sites citing "very good" talks to end the war.
Trump said his administration was speaking with an unidentified "top person,” warning if talks failed in the next five days "we'll just keep bombing our little hearts out.”
But Tehran's parliamentary speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, reportedly involved in talks, said "no negotiations" were underway, insisting Trump was seeking "to manipulate the financial and oil markets.”
Stock markets soared and oil prices saw brief respite after Trump's abrupt about-turn that came ahead of a deadline he had set to reopen the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane or see the U.S. "obliterate" Iran's power plants.
U.S. media outlet Axios reported U.S. negotiators Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner may meet an Iranian delegation for talks in Pakistan as soon as this week, with Vice President JD Vance possibly joining.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt did not deny the reports, saying "speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House."
Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said messages were received from "some friendly countries indicating a U.S. request for negotiations aimed at ending the war,” but denied any such talks had taken place, Iran's official IRNA agency reported.
"Trump has been a master of sudden pivots and switches. So it's sometimes hard to know if there is a strategy or if it's just always improvisation," said Garret Martin, a professor of international relations at American University in Washington.
Thousands of U.S. Marines are headed to the Middle East, reinforcing America's presence following weekend speculation Trump was mulling ground operations either to seize Iranian oil assets or to forcibly reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Since the war erupted, Tehran has retaliated against U.S.-Israeli attacks by throttling traffic through the Strait, a conduit for one-fifth of global crude, and by hitting Gulf energy sites and U.S. embassies as well as targets in Israel.
