Pakistan PM Shehbaz Sharif says they remain committed to mediating US-Iran peace efforts
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US forces continue to enforce a blockade against Iranian ports, preventing ships from entering or exiting.
American forces have so far directed 38 ships to turn around, or return to port, according to the US Central Command.
US President Donald Trump has indicated that the ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran could be nearing an end, asserting that mounting military and economic pressure has placed Tehran in a weakened position and may push it towards a resolution.
Trump added that internal divisions within Iran's leadership could further accelerate the path to an outcome.
Muscat: Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held high-level talks with Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq in Muscat, focusing on cooperation among Hormuz littoral states to ensure safe maritime transit amid the ongoing war with the US and Israel.
A tanker carrying about 910,000 barrels of US-produced crude oil from Texas arrived in Tokyo Bay, completing a roughly 35-day voyage through the Panama Canal, in one of the largest direct US crude deliveries to Japan in years.
The cargo aboard the tanker M/V Otis marks a notable shift in global energy flows as buyers seek alternatives to Middle Eastern supplies amid disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial chokepoint for world oil shipments.
Pakistan's foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, said late Sunday that the government has lifted all restrictions around the high-security zone in the capital of Islamabad.
Iranian and U.S. delegations held rare face-to-face talks there earlier this month. The area had remained under lockdown for more than a week as Pakistan hoped to host a second round of talks aimed at securing a ceasefire.
Dar's remarks signaled that there was no immediate prospect of further direct talks between the United States and Iran. Still, Pakistan's government says it continues to mediate by conveying messages between the two sides to promote lasting stability in the region.
In a post on X, Dar thanked residents of Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi "for their patience and cooperation."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi departed Islamabad for Moscow on Sunday, his ministry said in a statement, with Tehran's ambassador to Russia saying he would meet President Vladimir Putin.
Araghchi was on his second visit to the Pakistani capital in less than 24 hours on Sunday, having also travelled to Oman, as mediators pushed to keep peace talks with the United States alive.
There has been no second round of direct negotiations between Washington and Tehran, despite a ceasefire in the US-Israeli war with Iran beginning more than two weeks ago.
Russia and Tehran, who are both subject to fierce Western sanctions, have developed an increasingly close relationship in recent years.
In an interview Sunday on Fox News Channel, Trump said he made that decision rather than send a delegation on a 17-hour flight.
“We have all the cards. If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us,” Trump said, not indicating when the call would take place.
Talks appeared to fall apart on Saturday, with Tehran’s top diplomat leaving Pakistan, and Trump soon afterward saying he had told envoys not to travel to Islamabad.
Asked about NATO, Trump said he was “very, very disappointed” in the military alliance, which he has suggested the U.S. may consider leaving after member countries ignored his call to help as Iran effectively shut the the Strait of Hormuz.
“We’ve been serving them for many years, spending trillions of dollars, and when we wanted to help they were not there, so we have to remember that,” Trump said.
Russia's foreign ministry on Sunday said that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi would travel to Moscow for talks.
"We confirm a visit by Araghchi to Russia with the aim of holding talks," the ministry told RIA Novosti news agency, without providing more details.
Earlier, Iran's ISNA news agency quoted Tehran's ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, saying that Araghchi would meet Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Monday to "consult with Russian officials regarding the latest status of the negotiations, ceasefire, and surrounding developments".
The Israeli military said on Sunday that a soldier was killed in southern Lebanon, where a ceasefire has been in place since mid-April.
Sergeant Idan Fooks, 19, died "during combat" in south Lebanon, while "an officer and three additional soldiers were severely injured, along with a soldier who was moderately injured and a soldier who was lightly injured", the military said.
Under the terms of the truce, which was recently extended, Israel reserves the right to respond to "planned, imminent or ongoing attacks" and has been striking what it says are Hezbollah targets in south Lebanon almost every day.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi will meet Russian President Vladimir Putin during a visit to Moscow on Monday, the ISNA news agency reported.
It cited Tehran's ambassador to Russia, Kazem Jalali, who said that Araghchi would meet Putin and "consult with Russian officials regarding the latest status of the negotiations, ceasefire, and surrounding developments", and present a report on negotiations to end the war with the United States and Israel.
The Israeli military says it carried out artillery and airstrikes in southern Lebanon.
They targeted Hezbollah militants and weapons sites, including rocket launchers and storage facilities, north of what it calls the Forward Defense Line, as fighting has picked up in recent days despite a ceasefire.
The country’s health ministry added in figures released Sunday that 7,755 people were wounded in the latest Israel-Hezbollah war that broke out on March 2.
