DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Airstrikes battered Iran and Iranian missiles and drones targeted Israel and sites across the Mideast on Tuesday, even as President Donald Trump said the United States was in talks with the Islamic Republic to end the war.

With thousands more U.S. Marines on their way to the Gulf, both sides firing barrages and Iran denying any negotiations are taking place, the war’s tempo remained high a day after Trump delayed his self-imposed deadline for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran’s chokehold on that crucial waterway has snarled international shipping, sent fuel prices skyrocketing and threatened the world economy.

Pakistan offered to host diplomatic talks, but Iran remained defiant, vowing to fight “until complete victory.”

Any talks between the U.S. and Iran would face monumental challenges. Many of Washington’s shifting objectives, particularly over Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, remain difficult to achieve. Meanwhile, it’s not clear who in Iran’s government would have the authority to negotiate — or be willing to, as Israel has vowed to continue taking out leaders after killing several.

Iran remains highly suspicious of the United States, which twice under the Trump administration has attacked during high-level diplomatic talks, including with the Feb. 28 strikes that started the current war.

PAKISTAN OFFERS TO HOST TALKS

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif wrote on X that Pakistan is ready to “facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks” to end the Iran war.

The U.S. had agreed in principle to join talks in Pakistan, according to three Pakistani officials, one Egyptian official and a Gulf diplomat, while mediators were still working to convince Iran.

One diplomat from the region said the talks could happen by early next week, and that special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner are expected to represent the U.S. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to provide details to the media.

Speaking Tuesday at the White House, the president said the U.S. is “in negotiations right now” and that the participants included Witkoff, Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice-President JD Vance.

“We have a number of people doing it,” Trump said. “And the other side, I can tell you, they’d like to make a deal.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi’s office said he has discussed the war this week with several counterparts. But Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, denied Trump’s claim of direct talks, and an Iranian military spokesman issued a newly defiant statement.

“Iran’s powerful armed forces are proud, victorious and steadfast in defending Iran’s integrity, and this path will continue until complete victory,” Iranian state television quoted Maj. Gen. Ali Abdollahi Aliabadi as saying Tuesday.

Aliabadi did not say what victory would look like, but Iran’s military could be trying to warn political leaders against offering concessions in any possible negotiations.

The Egyptian official said efforts are centred on “trust-building” between the U.S. and Iran, with the aim of bringing about a pause in fighting. Israel is not involved.

The official, who is involved in the efforts, said the priority is to prevent attacks on regional energy infrastructure and that they were working on a “mechanism” for Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Talk of negotiations briefly drove down oil prices and boosted stocks. But that respite was short-lived, with the price of Brent crude, the international standard, nudging back over US$100 a barrel Tuesday, up nearly 40 per cent since the war started.

STRIKE KILLS 3-YEAR-OLD

Israel said it carried out an extensive series of strikes on Iranian “production sites,” without providing more information. In Tehran, a massive blast was heard in northern neighbourhoods and another in the city centre.

Iran also fired at least a dozen waves of missiles at Israel, and first responders said three people were wounded in southern Israel, and four others suffered minor wounds in Tel Aviv.

A Moroccan civilian contractor with the United Arab Emirates’ armed forces was killed in Bahrain in an Iranian attack, the UAE Defence Ministry said. In Kuwait, power lines were hit by air defence shrapnel, causing partial electricity outages for several hours. Saudi Arabia said it destroyed Iranian drones targeting its oil-rich Eastern Province.

Israel pounded Beirut’s southern suburbs, saying that it was targeting infrastructure used by the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group.

A strike on a residential apartment southeast of the Lebanese capital killed at least three people, including a three-year-old girl, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry. Another five people were killed in the south.

In northern Israel, a woman was killed by shrapnel during an attack from Lebanon.

Meanwhile, Lebanon declared Iran’s ambassador persona non grata and ordered him to leave by Sunday.

Iranian flights have been banned from landing in Lebanon, out of fear that they would carry weapons or funding for Hezbollah, and some top Lebanese government officials have accused Iran of dragging Lebanon into another war with Israel.

Authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million.

Iran’s death toll has surpassed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said. In Israel, 16 people have been killed. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.

MARINES ON THE WAY

Trump’s announcement came as thousands of Marines headed to the region, raising speculation the U.S. may try to seize Kharg Island, which is vital to Iran’s oil network. The U.S. bombed the Persian Gulf island more than a week ago, hitting its defences but saying it had left oil infrastructure intact.

Iran has threatened to mine the Gulf if the U.S. appears to be on the verge of landing troops.

Trump said he would hold off on a threat to bomb Iran’s power stations while talks unfold — a delay that could be aimed at buying time for the Marines to arrive, the New York-based Soufan Center think tank wrote in an analysis.

However, the centre also noted that “Trump could be actively seeking an offramp.”

Trump has said he has no plans to send ground forces into Iran but has not ruled it out. Israel has suggested its ground forces could participate in the war.

» The Associated Press