Live updates: Follow the latest news on Iran war
Pakistan delivered messages from the US to Iran on Wednesday in a push to resume negotiations, as President Donald Trump says the war is "very close” to being over.
A "high-ranking delegation" led by Pakistani army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir was in Tehran to deliver "Washington's new message to Tehran" before a possible second round of talks, Iranian state media said. It said Tehran would decide whether to hold a new round of talks with the US after a review of the Pakistani delegation meeting.
The visit comes as Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif visits Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Turkey this week, amid intensifying diplomatic efforts to end the war that has engulfed the region. Mr Sharif arrived in Jeddah on Wednesday for talks with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on bilateral relations and regional security.
Pakistan has emerged as the key mediator between Iran and the US, working to bring an end to the fighting after securing a two-week ceasefire that expires on April 22.
The country is now seeking to host a second round of talks after last week's meetings in Islamabad between Tehran and the Trump administration failed to yield an agreement.
The US and Iran had continued to trade messages through Pakistan despite no breakthrough in talks hosted by the Pakistani capital, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Wednesday.
The second round of negotiations is expected in the coming days, according to Mr Trump.
The war with Iran is “very close to over”, he said in an interview with Fox News. “I think they want to make a deal very badly.”
Mr Trump, who has declared victory repeatedly since the war began, told the New York Post on Tuesday he expects a second round of negotiations with Iran to begin within days.
In an interview on ABC News, Mr Trump said there would be an “amazing two days ahead”. He added he did not think it would be necessary to extend the ceasefire.
“It could end either way, but I think a deal is preferable because then they can rebuild,” Mr Trump said.
The US President also told Sky News it is "very possible” that a deal with Iran will be reached by the time King Charles III visits the US later this month. The British monarch is expected to be in Washington between April 27 and 30.
Vice President JD Vance, who led the US delegation to Islamabad, said it would take time to resolve the mistrust between the US and Iran but that he felt “very good about where we are” on peace talks.
He said the talks were the highest-level negotiations between US and Iranian officials in almost 50 years, but that there was a lot of lingering mistrust.
“You’re not going to solve that problem overnight,” Mr Vance said on Tuesday at a Turning Point USA event in Georgia. “But yeah, I think the people we were sitting across from wanted to make a deal.”
“I feel very good about where we are,” he added.
Despite continuing talks and de-escalation efforts, tensions have been rising in the Strait of Hormuz, where the US Central Command said it has “fully implemented” a blockade of shipping from Iranian ports.
“US forces maintain maritime superiority in the Middle East”, the US Central Command said on Wednesday.
“In less than 36 hours since the blockade was implemented, US forces have completely halted economic trade going into and out of Iran by sea,” the US Central Command chief, Admiral Brad Cooper, said on X. The blockade of Iranian ports involves more than 10,000 US military personnel, more than a dozen warships and dozens of aircraft, Centcom has said.
Meanwhile, Iranian state media has claimed that a second Iranian ship reportedly passed through the Strait of Hormuz on Wednesday, despite the US blockade.
Iran's military central command also said it could disrupt further regional trade routes if the US continues its blockade, Fars news agency reported.
The Khatam Al Anbiya Central Headquarters said Iranian armed forces would not allow exports and imports to continue through the Arabian Gulf, the Gulf of Oman and the Red Sea if pressure on shipping persists.
It added that any continued US action against Iranian commercial vessels and tankers would be considered a breach of the ceasefire and could lead to further escalation.
