Thanks for following our live coverage of the war in the Middle East today.
We are wrapping up our blog for the night, but we will be back with more live coverage tomorrow morning.
For more detail on the war and its global impacts in the meantime, check out this piece by my colleague Nicole Asher.
How Donald Trump makes statements can be just as important as what he is saying.
Today he was upbeat and boisterous about the prospect of a deal with Iran when he fronted cameras.
“We're doing a five-day period, we'll see how that goes, that if it goes well, we're going to end up with settling this, otherwise we just keep bombing our little hearts out," he said.
The five-day delay was a reference to his threats to blow up Iran's energy facilities.
He's giving himself more time and options.
It also puts the focus on a possible diplomatic resolution while still making it clear he is willing to continue the war should things not go his way.
He was signalling to the world, and it appears he's already been rewarded through the markets.
The Dow has jumped and oil prices have dipped since he came out citing "productive" talks where the US and Iran had "major points of agreement".
The stock market is a barometer he often uses for success and loves to point to it when it’s doing well.
But Trump knows even if the markets do well today the economic pain ahead could be long and troublesome for everyday Americans and people around the world.
The big question is whether there will in fact be a deal that he's willing to sign off on that satisfies his demands and ensures long-term peace to allow for the economic recovery that will need to follow.
Donald Trump said the United States has held productive talks with Iranian officials aimed at achieving a “complete and total resolution of hostilities” in the Middle East.
Speaking to reporters on a Florida tarmac before departing for Memphis, the US president offered an optimistic outlook on the prospects for ending the conflict.
He said the US engaged in “strong talks” late Sunday evening with unnamed Iranian officials and suggested that Iran is interested in reaching an agreement.
“We will see where they lead. We have major points of agreement. I would say almost all points of agreement,” he told reporters.
Trump did not identify the Iranian official involved, describing them only as “a top person,” adding that it was not Iran’s newly appointed Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei
His remarks come despite statements from Tehran denying that any dialogue has taken place between the two countries.
Trump added that US and Iranian officials are expected to speak again “today, by phone probably.”
The comments follow an earlier online post by the president indicating his intention to postpone planned strikes on power plants for five days.
As the war in the Middle East enters its fourth week, photographers on the ground from Associated Press have captured the destruction, grief and displacement.
The USS Gerald R. Ford, the world's largest aircraft carrier that has been part of Middle East war operations, has returned to a naval base in Crete, off Greece.
The vessel, which took on food, fuel and ammunition at Souda Bay in February, reported a laundry fire on March 12 which injured two crew members.
It also caused major damage to some 100 beds, according to the US military, with the carrier also reportedly suffering significant problems with its toilet system while at sea.
The carrier had been at sea for nearly nine months due to its deployment for US operations in the Caribbean and then the Middle East.
Senator Mark Warner, the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, has sharply criticised the extended deployment of the ship.
"The Ford and its crew have been pushed to the brink after nearly a year at sea, and they have been paying the price for President Donald Trump's reckless military decisions," he said.
The withdrawal of the Ford leaves a gap for US forces in the region.
"Taking the Ford off the board for any significant length of time means less US support to war efforts," said Daniel Schneiderman, director of global policy programs at Penn Washington.
"The Ford's role in the defence of Israel is significant," he said, while noting that if some of the ships accompanying it — which have key air defence capabilities — remain near Israel, then "the immediate term operational impact of its departure is somewhat mitigated."
Reporting with AFP
If you're just joining our live coverage on the Middle East, here's a rundown
While Donald Trump's extension of his ultimatum to Iran is welcomed by many, it may not be by Israel.
An unnamed Israeli official told Israel's Channel 12, it is hoped the US backing away from the 48-hour threat will not be seen as weakness.
"Trump's statement last week — that there would be no further strikes on gas facilities — encouraged the Iranians, as they perceived it as a sign of weakness," the source said.
"It is to be hoped that they will not view the cancellation of the current ultimatum as weakness as well, because if they do, that would be bad news."
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said that there had been no assessment that mainland Britain was being targeted by Iran.
"We carry out assessments all the time in order to keep us safe, and there's no assessment that we're being targeted in that way," Starmer said.
He was asked if Britain could be targeted by Iran after reports over the weekend said that Iran had fired two ballistic missiles at a US-UK military base in the Indian Ocean.
Starmer also said that any attempt to reopen the Strait of Hormuz needed careful consideration and a viable plan, and that his number one priority was to protect British interests.
Reporting with Reuters
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said that he had spoken to President Donald Trump and expressed his concerns about threatened attacks on Iran's power plants.
"I am grateful that he said today that he is postponing them for another five days and is now also opening the possibility for immediate and direct contact with the Iranian leadership," said Merz at a press conference in Berlin.
Reporting with Reuters
British budget airline easyJet has warned consumers could feel the impacts of the war in the Middle East from the end of the summer in the form of higher prices for flights across Europe.
This would be when existing fuel hedges come to an end.
"The reality is that prices will start feeding through to the consumer towards the back end of the summer, but equally it depends what happens to fuel prices," chief executive Kenton Jarvis said.
The airline said in January it had hedged 84 per cent of its fuel needs for the first half of 2026, 62 per cent for the second and 43 per cent for the first half of 2027.