Iran's foreign minister arrived in Islamabad on Friday and US envoys headed to the Pakistani capital in a bid to kickstart a new round of peace negotiations amid a fragile ceasefire.
The White House said emissaries Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner would engage in an "in-person conversation" with Iranian representatives, but Iranian state media said that direct talks were not in the cards.
Despite President Donald Trump's announcement on Thursday of a three-week ceasefire extension in Lebanon, Israeli strikes in the south of the country killed six people on Friday, the Lebanese health ministry said.
While Trump expressed confidence at the prospect of a lasting peace in Lebanon, sealing a deal to end the wider Middle East war is a thornier proposition, even as urgency mounts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for the world's oil and liquefied natural gas (LNG).
In an interview with Reuters news agency, US President Donald Trump said Iran plans to make an offer aimed at satisfying US demands.
"They're making an offer and we'll have to see," Trump said during a phone interview.
Trump said he did not know what the offer would be yet. He has been adamant that any deal includes Iran giving up its enriched uranium and allowing freedom of oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz.
When asked who the US was negotiating with, Trump said: "I don't want to say that, but we're dealing with the people that are in charge now."
He declined to provide names.
Trump has insisted the US military will maintain a blockade against Iran's ports until an agreement is reached.
When asked what is needed to lift the blockade, Trump said: "I'd have to be able to answer that question later. I have to see what they're offering."
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said Witkoff and Kushner would head to Pakistan on Saturday "to engage in talks...with representatives from the Iranian delegation."
"The Iranians reached out, as the president called on them to do, and asked for this in-person conversation," Leavitt said, adding that the talks would "hopefully move the ball forward towards a deal."
Leavitt said Vice-President JD Vance, who led a first round of negotiations in Islamabad two weeks ago that concluded without a deal, would not be joining for the time being, but was on "standby to fly to Pakistan if necessary."
It remained unclear late Friday whether the Iranian side would meet directly with the US envoys.
Iranian state television said Araghchi has no plans to meet with the Americans and Islamabad would serve as a bridge to "convey" Iranian proposals to end the conflict.
Pakistan's foreign ministry said Araghchi had arrived in Islamabad to discuss "ongoing efforts for regional peace and stability" with Pakistani officials, without directly referencing talks with Witkoff and Kushner.
An Iranian spokesman said Araghchi would visit Oman and Russia after the Pakistan stop to discuss efforts to end the war launched against the Islamic Republic by Israel and the United States on February 28.
EU says opening Hormuz 'vital'
Since the last round of talks, efforts to bring the two sides back to the table have hit an impasse, with Iran refusing to participate as long as a US naval blockade on its ports remained in place.
Iran has imposed a de facto blockade of its own on the Strait of Hormuz, allowing only a trickle of ships to pass through the vital waterway, throwing global energy markets into turmoil.
Oil prices slid on Friday amid hopes that fresh peace talks would see an end to Tehran's disruption of trade through the strait.
European Council President Antonio Costa said Friday that the strait "must immediately reopen without restrictions and without tolling."
"This is vital for the entire world," Costa said.
Major Wall Street indices closed at fresh records on Friday as markets cheered the latest batch of earnings reports and US and Iranian officials headed to Pakistan.
The United States continued meanwhile to build up its forces in the Middle East with the arrival of its third aircraft carrier in the region, the USS George H.W. Bush.
'Destroyed'
Trump spoke in glowing terms on Thursday of peace prospects for Lebanon after meeting with Israeli and Lebanese envoys, voicing hope for a three-way meeting with the Lebanese and Israeli leaders.
The two countries have been officially at war for decades and until last week had not met so directly since 1993.
Mohammed Raad, the head of the Hezbollah's parliamentary bloc, urged the Lebanese government to withdraw from direct talks with Israel and warned that a lasting peace deal of the kind sought by Trump "will in no way enjoy Lebanese national consensus."
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who has vowed to destroy the Iran-backed movement, said: "We have started a process to reach a historic peace between Israel and Lebanon, and it's clear to us that Hezbollah is trying to sabotage this."
In south Lebanon's Tyre, Mohamad Ali Hijazi was searching a mountain of rubble for mementos of family members killed in an Israeli airstrike minutes before the ceasefire took hold.
"I'm trying to find my mother's hairbrush...and a bottle of perfume that she loves," said Hijazi, 48 -- some of the last things he sent her from France, where he has long lived with his wife and two daughters.
"My life has been destroyed. I haven't slept for five days," he told AFP, repeatedly fighting back tears.
Hezbollah downs drone
The Israeli military confirmed a claim by Iran-backed Hezbollah that it had used a missile to shoot down an Israeli drone in south Lebanon.
US build-up
The US military noted that it now has three aircraft carriers in the Middle East for the first time since it waged the 2003 Iraq war.
The three battle groups comprise "over 200 aircraft and 15,000 Sailors and Marines", US Central Command said on X.
Tehran airport to reopen
International flights from Tehran's Imam Khomeini Airport will resume on Saturday, the ISNA news agency reported, days after Iran reopened its airspace. The first flights will be to Istanbul and Muscat, the announcement said.
'Tight' gas markets
The market for liquefied natural gas (LNG), which has been strained by the war, will remain "tight" through 2026 and 2027", the International Energy Agency said.
UAE distrustful of Iran
Rebuilding trust between Abu Dhabi and Tehran will take "ages and ages", UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash said, after Iran targeted the United Arab Emirates during the Middle East conflict.
Peacekeeper dies
The UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon, UNIFIL, announced that an Indonesian blue helmet died in hospital of wounds suffered on March 29 in an attack on his base.
US freezes $344m in cryptocurrency
The United States has frozen $344 million in cryptocurrency assets over ties to Iran, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says, as Washington seeks to raise pressure on Tehran amid energy supply disruptions due to the war.
