Iran has said it is reviewing the US's latest position on ending the war after President Donald Trump suggested he was prepared to wait a few days to "get the right answers" from Tehran but warned of renewed attacks if it did not agree to a deal.
"We have received US views and are reviewing them," Iranian state-run agency Nour News quoted Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.
Pakistan, which hosted peace talks last month and is acting as the conduit for messages between the two sides, continues to mediate between Iran and the US, he added, with several rounds of communication having taken place.
Pakistan's interior minister was in Tehran yesterday.
Mr Trump said the United States was ready to proceed with further attacks if Iran did not agree to a peace deal, but suggested he could wait a few days to "get the right answers".
Speaking to reporters, Mr Trump said the situation was "right on the borderline" and could escalate quickly.
Six weeks after he paused Operation Epic Fury for a ceasefire, talks to end the war have shown little progress, while soaring gasoline prices have weighed on the president's approval ratings.
"Believe me, if we don't get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We're all ready to go," he said at Joint Base Andrews.
Asked how long he would wait, Mr Trump said: "It could be a few days, but it could go very quickly."
Iran warned against renewed attacks.
"If aggression against Iran is repeated, the promised regional war will extend beyond the region this time," the Revolutionary Guards said in a statement.
Trump says he is willing to wait a few days to get 'right answer' from Iran
Mr Trump reiterated his determination not to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon.
"We're in the final stages of Iran. We'll see what happens. Either have a deal or we're going to do some things that are a little bit nasty, but hopefully that won't happen," Mr Trump told reporters yesterday.
"Ideally I'd like to see few people killed, as opposed to a lot. We can do it either way," he added.
He spoke to Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, who welcomed the extension of the ceasefire and told Mr Trump he thought a "reasonable solution" was possible.
Iran's top peace negotiator, Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, said in an audio message on social media that "obvious and hidden moves by the enemy" showed the Americans were preparing new attacks.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran remained open to negotiations, but added in an X post: "Forcing Iran to surrender through coercion is nothing but an illusion."
Mr Baghaei said Iran was pursuing negotiations "with seriousness and good faith, but it has strong and reasonable suspicion over America's performance".
Iran submitted a new offer to the US this week.
Iran's descriptions suggest it largely repeats terms previously rejected by Mr Trump, including demands for control of the Strait of Hormuz, compensation for war damage, lifting of sanctions, release of frozen assets and the withdrawal of US troops.
Mr Trump on Tuesday said he had been an hour away from ordering attacks this week in response to requests from several of Iran's Gulf neighbours.
Iran has largely shut the Strait of Hormuz to all ships apart from its own since the US-Israeli attacks began on 28 February, causing the biggest disruption to global energy supplies in history.
The US responded last month with its own blockade of Iran's ports.
Iran released a map showing a "controlled maritime zone" at the Strait of Hormuz yesterday and said transit would require authorisation from the newly created authority.
It says it aims to reopen the waterway to friendly countries that abide by its terms.
That could potentially include fees for access, which Washington says would be unacceptable.
Two Chinese tankers laden with a total of around four million barrels of oil exited the Strait of Hormuz yesterday.
Iran had announced last week, while Mr Trump was in Beijing for a summit, that it had agreed to ease rules for Chinese ships.
South Korea's foreign minister said a Korean tanker was crossing the waterway in cooperation with Iran.
Shipping monitor Lloyd's List said at least 54 ships had transited the strait last week, about double the previous week.
Iran said 26 ships had crossed in the past 24 hours, still only a fraction of the 140 per day before the war.
Mr Trump is under pressure to end the war, with soaring energy prices hurting his Republican Party ahead of congressional elections in November.
"Investors are keen to gauge whether Washington and Tehran can actually find common ground and reach a peace agreement, with the US stance shifting daily," said Toshitaka Tazawa, an analyst at Fujitomi Securities.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday that he viewed elevated yields and headline inflation as "transient" and they will subside when the conflict ends.
"The strait will open, and we'll normalise energy prices," he said.
The US-Israeli bombing killed thousands of people in Iran before it was suspended in a ceasefire in early April.
Israel has also killed thousands more and driven hundreds of thousands from their homes in Lebanon, which it invaded in pursuit of the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia.
Iranian strikes on Israel and neighbouring Gulf states have killed dozens of people.
Mr Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said when they launched the war that their aims were to curb Iran's support for regional militias, dismantle its nuclear programme, destroy its missile capabilities and make it easier for Iranians to topple their rulers.
But Iran has so far retained its stockpile of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium and its ability to threaten neighbours with missiles, drones and proxy militias.
Its clerical rulers, who put down a mass uprising at the start of the year, have faced no sign of organised opposition since the war began.
