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Donald Trump announced he had personally intervened to save eight Iranian women from execution - only for Iran to fire back, claiming the women were not facing death and that some were AI-generated.

The US President posted on Truth Social: "Very good news! I have just been informed that the eight women protestors who were going to be executed tonight in Iran will no longer be killed.

"Four will be released immediately, and four will be sentenced to one month in prison. I very much appreciate that Iran, and its leaders, respected my request, as President of the United States, and terminated the planned execution."

Trump said the eight women, whom he had featured in a photograph shared on Truth Social the previous day, had been sentenced to death for protesting against the regime earlier this year. The announcement came as ceasefire talks between Iran and the US continue.

Iran hit back forcefully, disputing every element of Trump's claim, reports The Metro. Its Embassy in South Africa replied simply: "Hurray, Trump saved 8 AI-generated people."

Iran's Embassy in Sierra Leone went further, posting: "Fact check: 4 of those 8 Iranian women Trump cited for hanging yesterday have been free for weeks.

"The others aren't facing execution. They are in custody awaiting trial on charges that carry prison time-not execution.

"He also lied about 800 executions in Iran months ago. Bottom line: Trump is a losing warmonger, a liar, and absolutely delulu."

Iran fired on three ships in the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, complicating efforts to bring the two sides back to the negotiating table and underlining the ongoing threat to global energy supplies.

The attacks were carried out by Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, according to Iranian media, and came after Trump announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire - which had been due to expire on Wednesday.

Iran opened fire on a container ship in the strait on Wednesday morning, with a second vessel attacked shortly afterwards, according to the British military's United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations Centre. Iranian state television later reported both ships were in Revolutionary Guard custody and being taken to Iran.

Trump said the US would maintain its blockade of Iranian ports despite the ceasefire extension. The strait carries 20 per cent of the world's oil and natural gas in peacetime, and the attacks reinforced the dangers facing traffic attempting to pass through it.

Iran has offered no formal response to Trump's ceasefire extension, though an Iranian diplomat said talks would not resume until the blockade is lifted.

Even if the ceasefire largely holds and the two sides avoid resuming major military operations, the continued closure of the strait means the conflict will keep weighing heavily on the global economy. The longer it remains shut, the more severe and far-reaching the damage will be - and the longer it will take for markets and supply chains to recover.