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The United States and Pakistan have been talking up the prospects for a deal in the more than six-week war, with US President Donald Trump saying that if a deal with Iran to conclude the war is reached and signed in Islamabad, he might go, and that Iran has agreed to almost everything.

Trump told reporters outside the White House that Iran had offered not to have nuclear weapons for more than 20 years.

“We’re going to see what happens. But I think we’re very close to making a deal with Iran,” he said.

Trump said he was not sure a ceasefire with Iran would need to be extended beyond next week. “We have a very good relationship with Iran right now, as hard as it is to believe”.

Closure of the strait has triggered the worst oil price shock in history and forced the International Monetary Fund to downgrade its outlook for the global economy, warning prolonged conflict could push the world to the brink of recession.

Pakistan’s army chief and a key figure in the mediation, Field Marshal Asim Munir, arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to try to prevent a renewal of the conflict after marathon talks held in Islamabad last weekend ended without a deal.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters yesterday that the trip had led to greater hopes for a second round of talks and an extension of the two-week ceasefire, but said fundamental differences remain over its nuclear programme.

Pakistan’s foreign ministry yesterday said that both sides are willing to resume talks, though no date had yet been set.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told a Pentagon briefing yesterday that troops were poised to restart combat operations if a deal was not reached.

Standing alongside two of the US military’s most senior officers, Hegseth said Iran needs to choose wisely as it prepares for negotiations with the United States.

“We are reloading with more power than ever before, and better intelligence,” Hegseth said at a Pentagon news briefing. “We are locked and loaded on your critical dual-use infrastructure, on your remaining power generation, and on your energy industry. We’d rather not have to do it.”

Hegseth also said the US blockade on Iranian ports will continue “as long as it takes”.

The issue of a ceasefire in Lebanon, where Israel has been waging a parallel campaign against Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah, would also be an essential component of any peace talks, Pakistan said.

Trump yesterday said the truce followed “excellent” conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Lebanese President Joseph Aoun. Israel and Lebanon envoys in the US held peace talks in Washington two days ago.

“These two Leaders have agreed that in order to achieve PEACE between their Countries, they will formally begin a 10 Day CEASEFIRE at 5 P.M. EST,” Trump said on his Truth Social network.

Trump said he had directed US Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, and top US military officer Dan Caine to work with the two countries “to achieve a Lasting PEACE.”

“It has been my Honor to solve 9 Wars across the World, and this will be my 10th, so let’s, GET IT DONE!” said Trump, who launched the war on Iran alongside Israel on February 28.

Trump also said he would invite the leaders of Israel and Lebanon to the White House.

In southern Lebanon, fighting continued to rage yesterday.

A senior Lebanese security official said an Israeli strike had severed the last bridge linking southern Lebanon to the rest of the country. One person was killed in an Israeli strike targeting a car on the road that links to Syria, the country’s state news agency said.

There was no immediate comment from the Israeli military on either strike.

Iran’s nuclear ambitions were a key sticking point at last weekend’s talks. The US proposed a 20-year suspension of all nuclear activity by Iran, an apparent concession from longstanding demands for a permanent ban, while Tehran suggested a halt of three to five years, according to people familiar with the proposals.

Iran, which has faced crippling US sanctions for years, wants a memorandum to include Washington unfreezing some Iranian funds, in return for allowing more ships through the strait.

A source briefed by Tehran said on Wednesday that Iran could let ships sail freely through the Omani side of Hormuz without risk of attack under proposals it has offered in talks with the US, providing a durable deal is clinched.

If a memorandum to halt the conflict is reached, the two sides are expected to have 60 days to negotiate a final deal, which would require the involvement of experts and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the Iranian sources said.

Iran has also in the past refused a US demand to ship out its entire stockpile of uranium, which has been enriched to 60 percent, a level that is far higher than levels needed for civilian uses.

However, Iranian sources said there were signs a compromise could emerge. One source said that, while Iran was not ready to send all its highly enriched uranium (HEU) abroad, part of it could be sent to a third country. Iran said some HEU was needed for medical purposes and for a research reactor in Tehran, which runs on relatively small amounts of uranium enriched to around 20 percent.

Meanwhile, the US yesterday widened its blockade on Iranian shipping to include what it called contraband, including weapons, weapons systems, ammunition, nuclear materials, crude and refined oil products, as well as iron, steel and aluminium.

Any vessel suspected of trying to reach Iranian territory will be subject to “visit, board, search and seizure”, the US Navy said in an advisory.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine said as of Thursday morning, the U.S. military had not boarded any ships, and that 13 had turned around.