Iran disputes Trump’s claim of ‘very strong talks’

Iran denied President Donald Trump’s claims Monday that negotiations were underway toward ending the Middle East war, with the speaker of Iran’s parliament accusing the U.S. leader of issuing false statements to calm rattled energy markets.

Trump told reporters that the United States and Iran were engaging in “very strong talks” toward resolving the war that began Feb. 28. He added that the talks produced “many, like 15 points” of agreement.

But Iranian officials denied any direct talks with the United States, although they have said third countries have passed messages between the two sides. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said on social media that “no negotiations have been held with the U.S.” He added that Trump’s comments were an attempt to “escape the quagmire in which the US and Israel are trapped.”

Trump said he was postponing his threat to attack Iranian power plants while the talks take place. He had said Saturday that if Iran did not allow shipping traffic to pass unimpeded through the Strait of Hormuz by Monday night, he would bomb the plants; on Monday, he set a new deadline of Friday.

Trump said Monday that his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and his special envoy, Steve Witkoff, were leading negotiations, and that the United States was communicating with one of Iran’s leaders, without naming the person. He said the U.S. side was demanding an end to Iranian nuclear enrichment and elimination of the country’s uranium stockpiles that could be used to one day make a bomb, terms that Iran had previously rejected.

The Israeli government did not immediately comment, and it was unclear whether it would be bound by any agreement with the United States.

The war’s global fallout has seen the price of oil and gas shoot up more than 50% since late February — a crisis that is now worse than the oil shocks in 1973 and 1979 combined, according to the head of the International Energy Agency.

Trump’s statement about talks with Iran immediately reduced energy prices somewhat, but it was unclear how long that could last without tangible progress toward ending the war. The president has repeatedly given optimistic assessments that temporarily eased market jitters, only to have prices rise again.

More than 2,000 people have been killed since the U.S.-Israeli attack on Iran that ignited the conflict more than three weeks ago, most of them in Iran and Lebanon, where Israel has fought a second front with Hezbollah, the Iran-backed militant group.

Here’s what else to follow today:

— Israeli air defenses: Israel’s military faced scrutiny Sunday about Iranian missiles that hit Dimona, a city 8 miles from Israel’s main nuclear facility, and the nearby city of Arad on Saturday night. More than 10 people were seriously injured and dozens more hurt in the strikes, renewing concerns that Israel might be holding back on using its most sophisticated air defenses to avoid depleting them.

— Attacks in Lebanon: Israel’s military chief said Sunday that its campaign against Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed armed group in Lebanon, had “only just begun,” adding that Israeli forces were preparing to push deeper into that country. Israel Katz, Israel’s defense minister, ordered the military to step up the demolition of bridges and houses in Lebanon, deepening fears that Israel is preparing for a long-term occupation in the country’s south.

— Death tolls: Iran’s U.N. ambassador said that at least 1,348 civilians had been killed in the country since the start of the war — a toll that has not been updated for over a week. On Friday, a Washington-based group, the Human Rights Activists News Agency, reported that at least 1,398 civilians had been killed. More than 1,000 people in Lebanon have been killed, authorities there said Thursday. At least 15 people have been killed in Iranian attacks on Israel, officials have said. The American death toll stood at 13 service members.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.