CAIRO — Pakistan’s army chief met Wednesday in Tehran with Iran’s foreign minister in the latest diplomatic move to ease tensions in the Middle East and arrange a second round of negotiations between the United States and Iran after almost seven weeks of war.
The White House said any further talks would likely take place in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad, though no decision had been made on whether to resume negotiations.
The U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports continued for a third day. The Trump administration warned of new economic sanctions on countries doing business with Iran, saying the Islamic Republic would feel the “financial equivalent” of a bombing campaign.
Pakistan has emerged as a key mediator in the conflict after it hosted rare direct talks between the U.S. and Iran in Islamabad, a move authorities said helped narrow differences between the two sides. Mediators are seeking a new round before a ceasefire is set to expire next week.
The Pakistani military said the delegation sent to Iran included the country’s interior minister and other senior security officials, but provided no details.
Officials say U.S. and Iran are making progress
Even as the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports and renewed Iranian threats strained the ceasefire agreement, regional officials reported progress, telling The Associated Press the United States and Iran had an “in principle agreement” to extend it to allow for more diplomacy. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the matter.
Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, took part in a preliminary meeting with Asim Munir, Pakistan’s army chief of staff, Iranian state media reported. It said talks would continue Thursday.
But even as mediators worked for peace, tensions simmered.
The commander of Iran’s joint military command, Ali Abdollahi, threatened to halt trade in the region if the U.S. does not lift its naval blockade.
In a move aimed at inflicting more economic pain on Iran, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the White House has warned countries and private companies they could face sanctions for doing business with Tehran.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the U.S. had not “formally requested an extension of the ceasefire” with Iran, which is set to expire Tuesday.
“At this moment, we remain very much engaged in these negotiations, in these talks,” Leavitt said, adding that any further in-person talks “would very likely” return to Islamabad.
Mediators seek compromise on sticking points
Mediators are pushing for a compromise on three main sticking points that derailed direct talks last weekend -- Iran’s nuclear program, the Strait of Hormuz and compensation for wartime damages, according to a regional official involved in the mediation efforts.
Baghaei said Iran is open to discussing the type and level of its uranium enrichment, but his country “based on its needs, must be able to continue enrichment,” Iranian state-media reported.
The negotiating team led by Vice President JD Vance urged Iran to agree to a 20-year moratorium on uranium enrichment as part of a potential deal to end the war, according to the regional official and a person briefed on the matter.
Iranians rejected the U.S. plan and countered with an offer to suspend enrichment for five years, the regional official and the person briefed on the matter added. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly on the negotiations.
The White House rejected the Iranian proposal. The U.S. and Iranian proposals were first reported by The New York Times.
The fighting has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members have also been killed.
Trump says Iran wants a deal
The war, now in its seventh week, has jolted markets and rattled the global economy as shipping has been cut off and airstrikes have torn through military and civilian infrastructure across the region. Oil prices fell on hopes for an end to fighting on Wednesday, and U.S. stocks surged close to records set in January.
Yet the future of the fragile ceasefire still hung in the balance as the U.S. pressed ahead with its blockade, which threatens to sever Iran from economic lifelines it has relied on since the war began nearly seven weeks ago, and Tehran threatened regional trade.
“I think they want to make a deal very badly,” U.S. President Donald Trump said in an excerpt from an interview with Fox Business Network’s “Mornings with Maria” scheduled to air Wednesday morning. He added: “I view it as very close to over.”
Trump claimed Wednesday that China has agreed not to provide weapons to Iran as reports circulated that Beijing has considered transferring arms.
Trump wrote in a social media post that China is “very happy that I am permanently opening the Strait of Hormuz.” He added: “They have agreed not to send weapons to Iran.” He seemed to suggest the two are linked.
China has long supported Iran’s ballistic missile program and backed it with dual-use industrial components that can be used for missile production, according to the U.S. government.
U.S. military says no ships got past blockade
U.S. Central Command said Tuesday that no ships made it past the blockade in the first 24 hours, while six merchant vessels complied with direction from U.S. forces to turn around and reenter Iranian waters.
The blockade is intended to pressure Iran, which has exported millions of barrels of oil, mostly to Asia, since the war began Feb. 28. Much of it has likely been carried by so-called dark transits that evade sanctions and oversight, providing cash that’s been vital to keeping Iran running.
Since the war began, Iran has curtailed maritime traffic, with most commercial vessels avoiding the waterway. Tehran’s effective closure of the strait, through which a fifth of global oil transits in peacetime, has sent oil prices skyrocketing, pushing up the cost of gasoline, food and other basic goods far beyond the Middle East.
Strikes continue in Lebanon after Washington talks
Elsewhere, Israel pressed ahead with its aerial and ground war in Lebanon. The country’s National News Agency reported airstrikes and artillery shelling throughout southern Lebanon on Wednesday, including near Bint Jbeil, where Israeli forces have encircled fighters with the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah.
The fighting continued after Israeli and Lebanese officials concluded their first direct talks in decades.
Israeli Ambassador Yechiel Leiter said the two countries are “on the same side of the equation” in “liberating Lebanon” from Hezbollah. Lebanese Ambassador Nada Hamadeh Moawad called Tuesday’s meeting “constructive” but urged an end to the fighting. Since March, that war has displaced more than 1 million people in Lebanon.
Israel and Lebanon have technically been at war since Israel was established in 1948, and Lebanon remains deeply divided over diplomatic engagement with Israel.
By Samy Magdy, Sam Metz, Munir Ahmed And Mike Corder, The Associated Press
