The US president has announced that he believes he and "the next Ayatollah" could control the passage through which a fifth of global oil production flows

The Strait of Hormuz could be "open very soon" if diplomatic talks go well with Iran, US President Donald Trump told reporters this morning. The Iranian Foreign Ministry, however, has flatly denied the US president's claims that any talks have taken place, either directly nor through an intermediary.

Asked if Iran would still be able to control the crucial waterway, one of the world's busiest oil shipping channels, Trump replied it would be "jointly controlled" by him and "whoever the next Ayatollah" is. Tehran, however, has already announced the Islamic Republic's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.

Trump also claimed that there will also be "a very serious form of a regime change" inside Iran.

Trump upped the ante over the weekend, threatening strikes on Iranian energy facilities if Tehran did not lift its threat to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz, to which Iran responded by publishing a list of power stations and energy facilities across the Gulf that it would target. Iran has kept the vital shipping route closed to most vessels since February 28, when the US and Israel launched the first wave of strikes against the country.

International markets have responded predictably to the first sign of de-escalation in the four-week war. 

Meanwhile Israel is expanding ground operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, where the IDF has destroyed several bridges across the strategic Litani River.

At least 1,444 people have been killed and 18,551 injured in US-Israeli attacks on Iran since February 28, the country's Health Ministry has said. 

Here are the latest developments:

• Trump has announced that he called off strikes targeting Iranian energy facilities, following alleged "productive conversations" with Tehran. 
• Tehran has denied that any conversations took place with the US. "Trump should lift his head a little from his phone and social networks and from now on keep his eyes only on the sky, stock exchanges, and oil prices," a military source told Tasnim News Agency.

READ MORE: Thousands of missiles later: Why the Gulf still won't go to war with Iran

• Trump's announcement coincided with significant losses on European markets and triggered an ongoing bounce, as well as a 10% drop in the price of crude oil.
• Iran has kept the crucial waterway largely closed to vessels linked to the US and Israel since the outbreak of the war. The disruption - affecting a route carrying roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies - has already pushed crude prices higher and heightened concerns over a prolonged global supply shock.

Follow our live coverage below for continuous updates. You can also read our previous updates here.