Pakistan has shared with the U.S. a revised ​proposal from Iran to end the conflict in ‌West Asia, a Pakistani source told ​Reuters on Monday (May 18, 2026), as peace talks appeared ⁠to remain stalled.

“We don’t have much time,” the source said, when asked if it would take time to ‌close gaps, adding that both countries “keep changing their goalposts”.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil ‌Baghaei confirmed that Tehran’s views had been “conveyed ‌to ⁠the American side through mediator Pakistan”.

U.S. President ⁠Donald Trump said last week that a ceasefire with Iran, which was reached in early April, was “on life support” after ​Tehran’s response to ‌a U.S. proposal to end the war made clear the two sides were still far apart on a number of issues.

The issues holding up ‌negotiations between the two sides include Iran’s ​nuclear ambitions and its control of the Strait of Hormuz, where it has ⁠shut down shipping traffic that normally carries one-fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.

Iran ‌has called for an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, where U.S. ally Israel is fighting Iran-backed Hezbollah militants. Tehran has ruled out discussing its nuclear programme before the “permanent end of hostilities”.

Tehran also wants compensation ‌for war damage, an end to the U.S. naval blockade, ​a guarantee of no further attacks, and resumption of Iranian oil sales.

Mr. Baghaei said ⁠Tehran was prepared for all scenarios.

“As for their ⁠threats, rest assured that we are fully aware of how to respond appropriately to ‌even the smallest mistake from the opposing side,” Mr. Baghaei told a televised weekly press conference.

U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Iran with more bombing on Wednesday (May 6, 2026) if it doesn’t reopen the Strait of Hormuz after a report that an agreement is emerging to end war.

Mr. Trump posted on Truth Social platform that the war with Iran could soon end and oil, and natural gas shipments could restart. But that all depends on Iran accepting a reported agreement that the U.S. President did not detail.

Iran-Israel war LIVE updates – May 6

“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” Mr. Trump said.

He said it was “perhaps a big assumption” that Iran would agree to the terms being offered by the United States.

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday (May 1, 2026) he was “not satisfied” with Iran’s latest proposal in negotiations to end war between the countries, rejecting the plan almost as soon as it was delivered.

“They want to make a deal, I’m not satisfied with it, so we’ll see what happen,” Mr. Trump told reporters at the White House.

Umm Al Ashtan, the LNG carrier that had set sail from Dahej, Gujarat, to the Persian Gulf for loading, has dropped anchor at Khor Fakkan, just downstream of the Strait of Hormuz, as per marinetraffic.com. The ship would have been among the first to cross the Strait of Hormuz from the Gulf of Oman to load cargo if it had made the scheduled transit on Friday (May 1, 2026).

Umm Al Ashtan had stayed close to Oman during its transit unlike typical Iran-approved transits that hug the Iranian coast. The scheduled passage of the ship had given hope of normalcy returning.

In a development that has given hope of normalcy returning across the Strait of Hormuz, LNG carrier Umm Al Ashtan, which had departed Dahej in Gujarat after unloading its cargo there, is heading up towards crossing the strait. The vessel, which had finished cargo operations early in March and had been drifting, is likely to cross the strait early on Friday (May 1) and make way to Das Island, an LNG terminal in the UAE.

This is among the first instance since the war started that an empty ship in ballast condition is sailing upstream of the Strait of Hormuz to load cargo even as hundreds of loaded ships are still stuck west of the strait inside the Persian Gulf.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guards on Wednesday (April 22, 2026) said their naval forces had seized two container ships seeking to cross the blockaded Strait of Hormuz, directing them towards the Iranian coast. One of the “violating” vessels, Liberia-flagged Epaminodas, was headed to Gujarat’s Mundra Port, according to ship-tracking data.

“The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps naval force this morning identified and stopped in the Strait of Hormuz two violating ships,” the Guards said in a statement. “The two offending ships… were seized by the IRGC’s naval forces and directed to the Iranian coast.”

Iran swiftly reversed course on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, reimposing restrictions on the critical waterway on Saturday (April 18, 2026) after the U.S. said the move would not end its blockade.

The country’s joint military command said on Saturday (April 18) that it “control of the Strait of Hormuz has returned to its previous state — under strict management and control of the armed forces.” It warned that it would continue to block transit through the strait as long as the U.S. blockade of Iranian ports remained in effect.

Hours after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the Strait of Hormuz is “completely open”, Indian ships stranded in the Persian Gulf started sailing out of the Strait.

The Hindu has been tracking Indian-flagged vessels and ships bound for India in the Persian Gulf for the past month. Most of these ships are critical to India’s energy needs and are carrying crude oil.

The leaders of France and the U.K. will gather dozens of countries — but not the United States — on Friday (April 17, 2026) to push forward plans to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key oil route choked off by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

The Paris meeting is part of attempts by sidelined nations to ease the impact of a conflict they didn’t start and haven’t joined, but that has sent the global economy reeling. After the war started on Feb. 28, Iran effectively shut the narrow strait through which a fifth of the world’s oil usually passes.