In its latest offer delivered on Sunday, Iran proposed opening the key waterway to shipping traffic and lifting the U.S. blockade, while postponing the thornier nuclear issue until later.
Negotiations to end the war are at an impasse over Iran’s nuclear program and the Strait of Hormuz, which remains mostly shut.
Each side is betting it can last longer than the other, analysts say. But there are risks in a stalemate without a deal.
Cease-fires in Lebanon and Iran are on shaky ground, with military attacks flaring and direct talks between Washington and Tehran to end their war stalled.
The last-minute scuttling of the trip to Pakistan was the latest sign of how far apart the two sides are on reaching a deal to end the Iran war.
Iran’s foreign minister has already arrived in the country, state media reported. He was believed to be carrying a written response to a U.S. proposal to end the war.
The killing of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ushered in a new form of collective leadership in the country, with more power for the Revolutionary Guards.
President Trump said the United States attacked an Iranian ship that tried to get past the U.S. blockade, hours after Iran said the blockade was a war crime that violated the cease-fire.
On a day when both Iran and the United States declared the Strait of Hormuz opened, hopes for an agreement rose. But statements from President Trump and Iranian leaders about negotiations were sometimes at odds.
At least 70 people are in the team that is scheduled to negotiate with the American side in Pakistan on Saturday.