President Donald Trump on Monday hailed “very good” talks with an unidentified Iranian official after abruptly shelving plans for fresh attacks, even as Washington’s ally Israel vowed to keep up strikes on the Islamic republic.

The surprise disclosure—denied by Tehran, which accused Trump of manipulating energy markets—came ahead of a Monday night deadline imposed by Trump for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz shipping lane or see the US “obliterate” its power plants.

Oil prices fell and stock markets jumped as observers scrambled to interpret Trump’s statements despite the Iranian denial.

Axios, citing an unnamed Israeli official, identified Trump’s interlocutor as Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s speaker of parliament and one of its most prominent non-clerical figures.