Pakistan's Defense Minister says the United States and Iran are close to reaching an agreement to end their conflict. Khawaja Asif told Bloomberg in Islamabad on Tuesday that "things are shaping up again in favor of a peace arrangement or a deal." He added that "the signals in the last two three days are that we are close to some sort of an arrangement."
The comments came the same day Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi arrived in Tehran for talks with Iranian officials, according to Iran's semi-official MEHR news agency. Pakistan has been one of several countries, alongside Oman and Qatar, mediating between Washington and Tehran throughout the conflict.
According to CBS News, President Trump told reporters Monday that the U.S. controls the Strait of Hormuz and that Iran's economy is suffering as a result of the war. Trump also echoed Tehran's demands for compensation for damage caused by the conflict, a notable shift in his public posture.
While diplomats worked toward a deal, violence continued in the region. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations reported Tuesday that a cargo vessel in the southern Red Sea was struck by an unknown projectile near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, resulting in casualties. The British military agency said in a statement: "It has been reported that a cargo vessel in the southern Red Sea has been hit by an unknown projectile resulting in casualties."
Greek maritime firm Marisks separately issued a security alert Tuesday saying a Saudi-owned commercial vessel had "reportedly been struck by a missile" while transiting the Bab el-Mandeb. Marisks reported that "initial reports indicate three crew fatalities - two Pakistani and one Indonesian national," without specifying the source of those reports. It was not immediately clear whether the two alerts referred to the same incident.
Also on Tuesday, the Iranian-backed Houthi media center posted on X that a Saudi drone had dropped two shells on the Ghor al-Mashwat area in Yemen's northeastern Saada governorate, which is under Houthi control. No further details were given.
CBS News also reported that President Trump secretly switched planes at the end of last month's NATO summit in Turkey after U.S. intelligence detected a credible plot to fire a missile at Air Force One. The switch was made after intelligence agencies identified the threat as credible.
Pakistan's interior minister remained in Tehran on Tuesday, and no date has been set for any formal announcement of an agreement between Washington and Tehran.
