U.S. President Donald Trump said he would again extend a deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz or face the destruction of its energy plants, after Tehran earlier rejected a 15-point U.S. proposal to end the fighting, Reuters reported.
The war has spread across the Middle East, killing thousands of people and hitting the global economy with soaring energy and fertiliser prices that have fuelled inflation fears.
The United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 during talks with Tehran about its nuclear programme that had not yet yielded a deal.
On Thursday, Trump threatened during a cabinet meeting at the White House to increase pressure on Iran if it did not make a deal. He later posted on social media that he would pause threatened attacks on Iranian energy plants for 10 days until April 6 at 8 p.m. Eastern daylight time (0000 GMT on April 7).
Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well," he added in his Truth Social post.
PREPARATIONS MADE FOR PAKISTAN MEETING, GERMANY SAYS
Iran has said it is not engaged in talks with Washington. Trump has not specified who the U.S. is purportedly negotiating with in Iran, where many high-ranking officials have been killed in the war.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told Deutschlandfunk radio that he had information that "there have been indirect contacts, and preparations have been made to meet directly".
That would be very soon in Pakistan, apparently."
Pakistan, which has good relations with Iran, passed on Washington's 15-point proposal, and is willing to host meetings.
On March 23, Trump announced a halt to all threatened strikes against power plants and energy infrastructure for five days.
In Thursday's post, he said he had announced the new pause in response to an Iranian request, although there was no immediate reaction from Tehran, and the Wall Street Journal cited mediators as casting doubt on his assertion.
Strikes on three buildings in the Pardisan area of Qom, south of Tehran, killed at least six people, Iranian media reported. In Tehran, rescue workers from the Red Crescent pulled a survivor from rubble.
In Urumia, in the northwest, a direct missile strike on a housing complex killed and injured several civilians, with rescue operations continuing, Iranian media said.
Israel's military said it had struck Iran’s primary facility for the production of missiles and sea mines in the city of Yazd.
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