Middle East crisis live: Iran dismisses Trump claim of talks; von der Leyen says global energy situation is ‘critical’

If you’re just joining us, here’s a snapshot of the latest key developments in week four of the US-Israel war on Iran .

At least six people have been injured in an Iranian missile attack in Tel Aviv on Tuesday , Israeli media is reporting.

Iran earlier launched a fresh wave of missiles against Israel just hours after Donald Trump hailed “very good” talks to end the war and gave a five-day extension to his deadline on Iran to reopen the strait of Hormuz shipping lane or see the US “obliterate” its power plants.

Tehran denied any talks took place, with the parliamentary speaker calling it “fake news … used to manipulate the financial and oil markets”.

An Israeli strike south of Beirut killed two people on Tuesday, Lebanon’s health ministry said , while strikes on the capital’s southern suburbs continued throughout the night.

The US will continue striking Iran and the five-day pause applies only to attacks on the country’s energy sites during the US-Iran talks, Semafor reported, citing a US official.

European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen said it was time for negotiations with Iran to end the war, given the global energy situation was now “critical”.

A Pakistani official and a second source told Reuters that direct talks on ending the war could be held in Islamabad this week .

The official said US vice-president JD Vance as well as Trump envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner were expected to meet Iranian officials in Islamabad this week, after a call between Trump and Pakistan’s army chief, Asim Munir.

Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken with Trump and that Israel would continue its strikes against Iran and Lebanon .

Trump saw a chance of a deal with Iran to “preserve our vital interests”, the Israeli PM said.

Israel said it had launched “wide-scale” strikes on Iran on Monday, while Tehran continued to fire missiles at the UAE and Saudi Arabia .

The Israeli military also claimed to have hit struck the main security headquarters of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as part of a wave of strikes in Tehran.

British destroyer HMS Dragon arrived in the eastern Mediterranean, three weeks after an Iranian-made drone hit the British base of RAF Akrotiri in Cyprus , the UK’s defence secretary said.

The British government has faced criticism for the slowness to deploy a warship to the region, after moves by Greece and France to send extra naval support to Cyprus after the attack.

Slovenia became the first EU member state to introduce fuel rationing in a bid to tackle disruptions caused by the Middle East war.