US says ‘slight progress’ in Iran talks amid uncertainty about whether war will resume

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio says “slight progress” has been made in talks with Iran, while there is uncertainty over whether an agreement will be reached or the war will resume.

He spoke overnight, days after US President Donald Trump said he was delaying a military strike on the Islamic Republic because “serious negotiations” were underway. Trump has been threatening for weeks that the ceasefire reached in mid-April could end if Iran does not strike a deal, changing the parameters for concluding such an agreement.

Rubio was speaking ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers in Helsingborg, Sweden, where the military alliance is expected to discuss what role it could play in helping police in the Strait of Hormuz once the war ends.

Rubio said he didn’t want to overstate the progress, saying there was “a little bit of movement and that’s good.” He said discussions were ongoing. There have been repeated claims of progress in recent weeks, but an agreement has remained out of reach.

Trump has repeatedly set deadlines for Tehran and then backed down. But he has also previously indicated he would delay military action to allow talks to continue, then reverse course and launch attacks. That happened at the beginning of the war, when he ordered strikes at the end of February, shortly after indicating that he would allow the talks to continue.

Trump said he called off attacks on Iran this week at the request of allies in the Middle East, including the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.

But Trump’s decision to give the talks a chance led to tensions with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

An official who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media said Thursday that Trump and Netanyahu had a “dramatic” phone conversation on Tuesday about the status of Iranian negotiations and that Israel is angry at Trump’s attempts to make a deal with Iran.

The White House declined to comment on the content or scope of the call. Trump told reporters after the call that Netanyahu “will do whatever I want him to do.”

The comments are some of the first public signs of daylight between the leaders since they started the war.

Pakistan continues peace efforts

Pakistan’s army chief traveled to Tehran on Friday for a third round of talks with Iranian leaders this week, two Pakistani officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters.

Field Marshal Asim Munir will be accompanied by Pakistan’s interior minister, who has already met twice with Iranian leaders this week. Pakistan has been working to broker a peace deal between Iran and the US since Munir facilitated face-to-face talks between the two countries in Islamabad last month.

However, important bottlenecks still remain.

Iran has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway for the transport of oil, gas, fertilizers and other petroleum products. The U.S. is blocking Iranian ports and diverted 94 commercial ships and disabled four others from mid-April through Thursday, the U.S. Central Command said in a social media post.

At the NATO meeting in Sweden, Rubio said he was discussing the reopening of the strait with other foreign ministers. He said there must be a “plan B” if Washington and Tehran fail to reach an agreement.

“Someone’s going to have to do something about it, okay?” Rubio emphasized that Iran will not “voluntarily reopen” the strait.

The US and Israel have said that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon. While regional officials have said Iran has offered some nuclear concessions, Trump has said he wants to remove highly enriched uranium from the country and prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. Iran says its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.

Officials say Saudi Arabia and the UAE have separately attacked Iran

Two regional officials and a Western diplomat told The Associated Press that Saudi Arabia and the UAE separately launched multiple attacks on Iran and on Iranian-backed Shiite militias in Iraq during the war. An Israeli military officer with knowledge of the situation also confirmed that the UAE has proactively attacked Iran at least once.

They all spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the information.

The regional officials said the attacks on Iran targeted military facilities, including missile and drone launchers.

One of the regional officials said Saudi Arabia’s attacks targeted hideouts of Iraqi militias, mainly Kataib Hezbollah, after Riyadh determined that most of the drone attacks on Saudi Arabia were coming from neighboring Iraq. He said Saudi Arabia repeatedly informed Baghdad about the Iraqi-led attacks before deciding to strike.

The Western diplomat and one of the regional officials said the UAE has been pushing for a collective military response from Gulf Arab countries since the start of the war.

When asked for comment, the UAE referred to a May 16 statement saying that “all measures taken by the UAE are within the framework of defensive actions aimed at protecting its sovereignty, citizens and vital infrastructure.” Saudi Arabia did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Iran has not publicly indicated that it is being targeted by the UAE and Saudi Arabia.