US optimistic of deal with Iran as it increases economic pressure

On Wednesday, the Trump administration voiced optimism about striking a deal to end the war with Iran, while also cautioning that economic pressure on Tehran would intensify if it continued to resist.

President Donald Trump ​has said he believes the war he launched with Israel in late February is nearly over, even as a shipping blockade he announced came into effect and traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained well below ‌normal levels.

The U.S. warned it could add secondary sanctions on buyers of Iranian oil in an apparent effort to gain leverage ahead of more negotiations, just weeks after Washington loosened the enforcement of some Iran energy sanctions.

U.S. and Iranian officials were weighing a return to pakistan for further talks as early as the coming weekend, after negotiations ended on Sunday without a breakthrough. Mediator Pakistan’s army chief arrived in Tehran on Wednesday to try to prevent a renewal of the conflict.

“We feel good about the prospects of a deal,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said at a news conference, calling ​conversations mediated by Pakistan “productive and ongoing.” She denied reports that the U.S. had formally requested an extension of a two-week ceasefire agreed by the two sides on April 8.

More in-person talks had not yet been confirmed but would ​likely take place in Pakistan again, Leavitt said.

Pakistan’s military confirmed Field Marshal Asim Munir had arrived in Tehran. A senior Iranian source told Reuters that Munir, who had mediated the ⁠last round of talks, would seek “to narrow gaps” between the two sides. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted on X welcoming Munir and said Iran was committed to “promoting peace and stability in the region.”

The talks last weekend broke down without an agreement to ​end the war, which Trump began alongside Israel on February 28, triggering Iranian attacks on Iran’s Gulf neighbours and reigniting a conflict between Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, speaking alongside Leavitt, predicted that China’s purchase ​of Iranian oil would “pause” given the U.S. blockade on vessels calling at Iranian ports. He said the U.S. could impose secondary sanctions on countries that purchase Iranian crude.

The U.S. Treasury had warned two Chinese banks not to process Iranian money or face sanctions, he said, without naming the banks. China previously bought more than 80% of Iran’s shipped oil.

“The Iranians should know that this is going to be the financial equivalent of what we saw in the kinetic activities,” Bessent said, referring to the U.S. and Israeli campaign of airstrikes that killed a number of Iranian leaders ​and damaged its defensive capacities and navy.

He also said the U.S. would not renew waivers that allowed the purchase of some Russian and Iranian oil without facing U.S. sanctions. The moves signal an end to the Trump administration’s efforts to ​use the waivers to free up more oil supplies and lower soaring global energy prices.

The war has pushed Iran to essentially close the Strait of Hormuz—a key route for global oil and gas shipments—to all but its own vessels, drastically cutting Gulf exports and forcing energy importers to scramble for other sources.