Strikes continued across the Middle East<\/a> on Tuesday amid uncertainty over the state of talks between the U.S. and Iran, after President Donald Trump touted progress on negotiations while Tehran denied any dialogue.<\/p>\n Just days after he insisted there was no leadership left to talk to in Iran, Trump on Monday announced the U.S. and Iran held discussions over the weekend<\/a> and as a result he was postponing major attacks he’d threatened on Tehran’s energy infrastructure.<\/p>\n “We have had very, very strong talks,” Trump told reporters. “We\u2019ll see where they lead. But we have … major points of agreement.”<\/p>\n Steve Witkoff, White House special envoy, and Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law, led the talks for the U.S. side, according to Trump. Trump did not identify who the U.S. was negotiating with in Iran, but said it is not the new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei.<\/p>\n Trump said a meeting would take place “soon.”<\/p>\n Iran, on the other hand, publicly denied any talks have taken place. Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, Iran’s speaker of Parliament, said Trump’s claims were an attempt to influence markets suffering from Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n The Trump administration is not confirming if and when in-person talks will take place between U.S. and Iranian officials in the coming days.<\/p>\n “These are sensitive diplomatic discussions, and the United States will not negotiate through the press. This is a fluid situation, and speculation about meetings should not be deemed as final until they are formally announced by the White House,”\u00a0White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said in a statement provided to ABC News.<\/p>\n President Donald Trump walks down the stairs of Air Force One upon his arrival at Joint Base Andrews, Md., March 23, 2026.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Luis M. Alvarez\/AP<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Pakistan has positioned itself as a mediator between the U.S. and Iran.<\/p>\n A Pakistani official familiar with the negotiations told ABC News that there are “several proposals” floating around regarding the next steps for talks and said an in-person meeting in Islamabad is on the table.<\/p>\n Trump on Tuesday shared to his social media platform a post from Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, who wrote on X: “Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the WAR in the Middle East, in the interest of peace and stability in region and beyond.”<\/p>\n “Subject to concurrence by US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict,” Sharif’s post read.<\/p>\n The Pakistani official said Turkey and Egypt are also helping to facilitate the talks between the U.S. and Iran.<\/p>\n The official said the talks would likely take place within the next five days in accordance with Trump’s social media post — suggesting military strikes on Iranian power plants were “paused” for the next five days as Tehran and Washington engage in diplomatic negotiations. The official cautioned nothing is final as of yet.<\/p>\n A spokesperson for the Embassy of Pakistan in Washington declined to comment. The Egypt and Turkish embassies have not responded to requests for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Turkish foreign minister said last Thursday that his country was talking to both the U.S. and Iran to understand where the two nations stand.<\/p>\n The State Department referred to the White House when asked if Witkoff, Kushner and Vice President JD Vance were expected to travel to Islamabad later this week to meet with Iranian officials, as Reuters has reported. Vance’s office has not responded to a request for comment.<\/p>\n Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said he had spoken with Trump, and said Trump believes there “is an opportunity to leverage the tremendous achievements we have attained with the U.S. military to realize the war’s objectives in an agreement — an agreement that will safeguard our vital interests.”<\/p>\n In the meantime, Netanyahu said Israel will “continue to strike both in Iran and in Lebanon. We are crushing the missile program and the nuclear program, and continue to inflict severe blows on Hezbollah.”<\/p>\n President Trump earlier Monday that Israel would be “very happy” when asked if he believed Israel would abide by a negotiated peace deal.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, thousands more U.S. Marines<\/a>\u00a0and several Navy ships are heading to the Middle East, and the\u00a0Pentagon is seeking $200 billion\u00a0<\/a>in supplemental funding.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n![\"Egypt\"](\"https:\/\/i.abcnewsfe.com\/a\/431a9d9e-73d2-4960-bf10-d8d75a270dee\/Trump-7-ap-er-260323_1774303842468_hpMain.jpg?w=375 "\\"Egypt\\"")
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