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Donald Trump said he was pausing his threat to strike Iran's energy infrastructure

for a further 10 days until April 6th, extending his Friday deadline for negotiations. He said this was at the

request of Iran's government and insisted that talks were ongoing. During a cabinet meeting on Thursday,

Mr. Trump repeated his claim that the country was, quote, begging to make a deal.

Earlier, Iran delivered its response to Mr. Trump's peace plan, according to Iranian state

media. The regime's demands attributed to an informed official include compensation for war

damage and end to assassinations,

guarantees that conflict won't restart and recognition of Iran's sovereignty over the

Strait of Hormuz.

Another official boasted of Iran's readiness for ground combat should America invade.

Stock markets slid among conflicting messages from Mr Trump and Iran over negotiations.

The SMP 500 fell by more than 1.7% and the tech-heavy NASDAQ by almost 2.4%.

Meanwhile, the price of Brent Crude, the global oil benchmark, hovered around $108.

Earlier, the OECD warned that global growth would be weakened by the energy shock and inflation

would be higher. Israel claimed it killed Alireza Tang Siri,

...