Two days after US President Donald Trump issued a 48-hour ultimatum to Iran, the Republican leader has signalled a de-escalation in the ongoing US-Israel Iran war, announcing a 5-day pause on military strikes against energy sites.

While Israel continued to strike the “heart of Tehran”, minutes after Trump made the announcement, the 79-year-old President said United States and Iran were negotiating a “total resolution of our hostilities in the Middle East,” and that he would postpone any American attacks on Iranian power plants by five days.

However, Iran refuted Trump’s claims saying there were no talks with the US adding his statement was “part of efforts to reduce energy prices and buy time for the implementation of his military plans.”

Both Tehran and Washington have been issuing contradicting statements since the beginning of the war and Trump has time and again made clashing statements about his next plans in the conflict. On Saturday, Trump had threatened to bomb Iran’s energy sites within 48 hours unless Tehran agreed to completely reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the oil shipping route in the Persian Gulf.