WASHINGTON/JERUSALEM/TEL AVIV — Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel on Tuesday, the Israeli military said, after US President Donald Trump postponed the bombing of the Islamic Republic’s power plants and other energy infrastructure because of what he described as productive talks with Iranian officials.

The missiles triggered air raid sirens in Israel, including Tel Aviv, where gaping holes were torn through a multi-storey apartment building. It was not immediately clear if the damage was 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 on Tuesday its fighter jets had carried out a large wave of strikes in central Tehran on Monday, targeting key command centers, including facilities associated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ intelligence arm and the Iranian Intelligence Ministry. It said more than 50 additional targets were hit overnight, including ballistic missile storage and launch sites.

Mr. Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform on Monday that the US and Iran had held “very good and productive” conversations about a “complete and total resolution of hostilities in the Middle East”.

As a result, Mr. Trump said he was postponing for five days a plan to hit Iran’s power plants, which he had threatened if Iran did not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. However, the pause only applies to Iran’s energy sites and US strikes on the country continue, US news outlet Semafor reported, citing a US official.

Iran has effectively closed the key strait, a conduit for about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, since the US and Israel launched their war on February 28. More than 2,000 people have been killed in the war.

Iran responded to the threat, saying it would hammer infrastructure of US allies in the Middle East, raising the prospect of an extreme disruption to global energy supplies.

IRAN DENIES NEGOTIATIONS
Mr. 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 – who an Israeli official and two other sources familiar with the matter said was the interlocutor in the talks on the Iranian side – said no negotiations had taken place.

“No negotiations have been held with the US, and fakenews 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 elite Revolutionary Guards (IRGC) said they were launching fresh attacks on US targets, and described Mr. Trump’s words as “psychological operations” that were “worn out” and having no impact on Tehran’s fight.

On Tuesday, US Treasury yields pushed higher and the dollar regained lost ground as the world continues to grapple with an energy shock triggered by Iran’s threat to shipping in the strait.

Brent crude futures were up 4.2% to $104.21 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.

“MAJOR POINTS OF AGREEMENT”
Mr. Trump told reporters his special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner, who had been negotiating with Iran before the war, had held discussions with a top Iranian official into the evening on Sunday and would continue on Monday.

“We have had very, very strong talks. We’ll see where they lead. We have major points of agreement, I would say, almost all points of agreement,” he said on Monday.

A European official said that while there had been no direct negotiations between the two nations, Egypt, Pakistan, and Gulf states were relaying messages.

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

The Pakistani official said US Vice President JD Vance, as well as Mr. Witkoff and Mr. Kushner, were expected to meet Iranian officials in Islamabad this week, following a call between Mr. Trump and Pakistan’s army chief Asim Munir.

The White House confirmed Mr. Trump’s call with Mr. Munir. The Pakistani prime minister’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Iranian media reported that Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif discussed the impact of the war on regional and global security.

“If the parties desire, Islamabad is always willing to host talks. It has consistently advocated for dialogue and diplomacy to promote peace and stability in the region,” Tahir Andrabi, a spokesman for Pakistan’s foreign ministry, told Reuters.

Although there was no immediate confirmation that talks had taken place as described by Mr. Trump, Iran’s foreign ministry described initiatives to reduce tensions.

It said Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had reviewed developments related to the Strait of Hormuz with his Omani counterpart and agreed to continue consultations between the two countries. — Reuters

GERMAN plans for a €10-billion ($11.6-billion) military satellite network independent of a parallel European program are raising red flags among some European Union (EU) lawmakers over potential duplication, fragmentation of efforts and cost.

Germany’s proposed collaboration with Rheinmetall, OHB and Airbus is in addition to the bloc’s €10.6-billion ($12.3-billion) IRIS² system, which is a central plank in its quest for strategic defense autonomy.

EU lawmakers told Reuters that Germany’s solo initiative risks undermining attempts to bolster collective defense capabilities as the bloc adapts to the relative decline of the US defense umbrella under President Donald J. Trump.

“If Germany now builds a purely national architecture that is not integrated into IRIS², there is a risk of weakening European structures,” said Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann, chair of the European Parliament’s Security and Defense Committee.

Germany envisages 100 low-Earth-orbit (LEO) satellites exclusively for military communications, while the EU project, which aims to deploy 290 satellites by 2029, is designed to establish a unified, space-based communication system.

Analysts say Germany’s system will leverage technology similar to Elon Musk’s SpaceX Starshield platform, which has been instrumental in Ukraine’s battlefield communications.

Both the German and EU systems would be comparable in scale to the Starshield network, though IRIS² — which will also carry commercial traffic — would remain far smaller than Starlink’s roughly 10,000 satellites.

A spokesperson said Berlin was closely monitoring the IRIS² project, which “has the potential, where appropriate, to complement national initiatives in fulfilling sovereign tasks.”

Germany’s proposed system specifically addressed its military’s unique requirements, with capability demands and performance parameters that were “entirely different” from those of IRIS², the spokesperson told Reuters.

DUPLICATION OR SOVEREIGNTY?
The potential divide between Germany’s national priorities and the EU’s collective vision underscores the challenges of aligning sovereignty, costs and strategic coherence in the 27-member bloc.

Ms. Strack-Zimmermann said parallel systems could result in “duplicate structures, fragmented standards, and ultimately less strategic impact for more money,” citing escalating security threats from the war in Ukraine.

“The decisive point is compatibility, connectivity, and European integration,” Ms. Strack-Zimmermann told Reuters, adding that national projects must remain aligned with EU frameworks.

Italy is studying a home-grown LEO satellite network with military and civilian uses, but the project is still at an early feasibility stage and is less advanced than Germany’s plan.

European Commission spokesperson Thomas Regnier said the EU executive body does not comment on investments by individual member states, which are a national responsibility.

“By investing in IRIS², member states can be part of a common European effort that benefits from shared resources and expertise. This helps develop advanced satellite communication technologies more efficiently and at a larger scale,” he added.

WORTH THE MONEY?
Some EU and German lawmakers also question the economics.

“The (German) taxpayer will ultimately pay the bill,” Jeanne Dillschneider, a Green Party rapporteur on the Bundestag’s Defense Committee, told Reuters.

Meanwhile, Christophe Grudler, a European Parliament lawmaker who represents the Renew Europe party and is focused on defense and space policy, warned against inefficiencies.

“Fragmentation is rarely the most efficient use of public resources,” he told Reuters, adding: “A smaller, isolated constellation would come with limitations in coverage and scalability.”

However, the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party said it supported Berlin’s initiative.

“Given the capabilities of potential adversaries to disrupt or even destroy satellites, redundancy — in military terms, reserves — is not a waste of money but a requirement of responsible national security policy,” said AfD defense policy spokesperson Ruediger Lucassen.

OHB Chief Executive Officer Marco Fuchs said IRIS², which relies on public-private partnerships, lacked the specificity required for a military-focused network.

“If there is a genuine military requirement, you cannot simply say: ‘I’ll rent it from private companies and wait to see how the conditions turn out,’” he said after OHB reported 2025 earnings last week.

While Airbus said it looked forward to receiving a request for proposals from Berlin, a spokesperson declined to comment on concerns regarding duplication.

NEED FOR SPEED
Although proponents of IRIS² say it will reduce EU dependency on non-European players and ensure interoperability across the military systems of member states, analysts note full deployment is not expected until the 2030s.

“Europe must accelerate,” said Mr. Grudler, adding that national systems were unlikely to address the shortfall any more quickly. — Reuters

SEOUL — South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Tuesday called for a nationwide energy-saving campaign over risks to oil and gas supplies from the Iran war, saying public institutions would cut back on their use of passenger cars.

Energy Minister Kim Sung-hwan told a Cabinet meeting private-sector vehicle curbs were voluntary for now but could be reviewed if the energy alert level increased.

The government is calling on people to adopt 12 energy-saving practices like shorter showers, charging phones and electric vehicles during the day and using washing machines and vacuums over the weekend.

The government will ask the top 50 oil-consuming businesses to cut use and encourage staggered commuting hours and other conservation steps, he said.

Mr. Kim also said Seoul would restart five nuclear reactors by May, ease restrictions on coal plants and expand renewable energy to reduce longer-term dependence on liquefied natural gas (LNG) and could extend the lives of three coal power plants scheduled to close this year.

The energy mix adjustment is expected to save up to 14,000 tons, or up to 20% of South Korea’s average daily LNG consumption of 69,000 tons for power, Mr. Kim said.

HD Hyundai has introduced energy-saving measures across affiliates such as HD Hyundai Heavy and HD Hyundai Oilbank, including voluntary vehicle restrictions, reduced plastic use and taking steps to cut power use such as turning off lights, a company official said.

South Korea also plans to draft a supplementary budget of 25 trillion won ($16.6 billion) as soon as possible which could include cash vouchers for consumers and financial support for companies, amid growing stimulus talks by other economies.

“Right now, what matters most is not saving government finances, but deploying funds swiftly and effectively where they are needed most,” Mr. Lee told the Cabinet meeting, as the finance ministry said it would submit the budget to parliament by end-March.

RESERVES MAY NOT LAST TWO MONTHS
The ongoing US-Israeli strikes on Iran and Tehran’s retaliation have brought severe disruption to global energy markets, bringing tanker traffic through the Strait of Hormuz to a near standstill.

South Korea imports around 70% of crude oil through the Strait of Hormuz, according to lawmakers and the industry ministry.

The country faces a looming energy crisis despite holding about 190 million barrels of oil reserves — 100 million barrels by the government and 90 million by private companies.

While standards from the International Energy Agency suggest reserves could last 208 days, officials note this figure excludes uses such as petrochemical exports, making the actual buffer significantly shorter.

Based on a daily consumption rate of 2.9 million barrels as of 2024 according to Korea National Oil Corp. data, analysts said the reserves might not last two months.

The government has secured pledges from the United Arab Emirates for 24 million barrels of oil, but the timing of shipments remains unclear. — Reuters