Hello, you're listening to the free edition of the world in brief from The Economist.

As a reminder, if you subscribe to The Economist, you'll get access to a deeper look at the day ahead, updated three times a day.

If you're already an Economist subscriber,

visit Economist.com slash espresso or visit our Espresso app to start listening. Here's today's

free edition.

This is the world in brief from The Economist.

Our top stories.

Donald Trump postponed attacks against Iran's power plants following what he called

productive conversations with the regime.

Iran, however, repeatedly denied any talks with America.

On Saturday, America's president gave Iran a 48-hour ultimatum to fully open the Strait of Hormuz,

or else he would, quote, obliterate its energy infrastructure.

Iran threatened to retaliate by sealing off the strait and mining all sea routes into the Gulf.

Stock markets rose in response to Mr. Trump's announcement.

In America, the SMP 500 closed more than 1.1% higher. The NASDAQ index was up by nearly 1.4%. In Europe, the Futsi 100 made back most of the day's losses, closing around 0.2% lower, and the stock's 600 index rose by

0.6%. Meanwhile, oil prices dropped. The price of the benchmark Brent crude

fell by a tenth to around $100 a barrel. Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's prime minister, said

Mr. Trump had updated him about the possibility of a deal with Iran,

quote, that protects our vital interests,

but added that Israel will continue to strike Iran and Lebanon.

Earlier, Israel's military claimed it hit, quote,

several Iranian terror regime headquarters in Tehran,

...