Pakistan and Qatar have dispatched envoys to Iran, officials and diplomats said on Friday, as mediators intensified efforts to prevent a monthlong cease-fire between Washington and Tehran from collapsing.<\/p>\n
Pakistan\u2019s army chief, Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir, who has played a central role in his country\u2019s mediation efforts<\/a>, led a delegation that landed in the Iranian capital on Friday evening, according to the Pakistani military. The high-profile visit appeared to signal that diplomatic efforts were picking up speed amid looming fears of a return to outright war. <\/p>\n It remained unclear, however, whether an agreement was within reach. <\/p>\n Negotiations between the United States and Iran have been deadlocked for weeks over Iran\u2019s nuclear program and control of the Strait of Hormuz, a critical route for global shipments of oil and gas and one of the conflict\u2019s central pressure points<\/a>.<\/p>\n Qatar also sent a team of officials to Iran to help broker an agreement between Washington and Tehran, according to two diplomats with knowledge of the mediation efforts. It was unclear when the Qatari delegation traveled to Tehran. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive details.<\/p>\n The decision to dispatch the Qatari team, which was reported by Reuters, was made in coordination with the United States, the diplomats added. Qatar has previously played a key role as a back channel<\/a> with Iranian officials, including helping to broker a cease-fire last year between Israel and Iran.<\/p>\n The shuttle diplomacy has unfolded under mounting pressure from President Trump, who said this week<\/a> that he had postponed a \u201cvery major attack\u201d against Iran after Gulf leaders asked for more time to pursue an agreement over Iran\u2019s nuclear program.<\/p>\n U.S. officials have voiced cautious hope about the potential of a deal, but warned that diplomacy remained fragile. On Friday, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that there had been \u201cslight progress\u201d in the negotiations, but signaled there was still much work to be done.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s some good signs,\u201d he said<\/a> a day earlier. \u201cI don\u2019t want to be overly optimistic as well. So let\u2019s see what happens over the next few days.\u201d<\/p>\n Iran\u2019s foreign ministry spokesman, Esmaeil Baghaei, said this week that Tehran had received Washington\u2019s latest responses and was reviewing them. <\/p>\n A key obstacle in the talks has been the fate of Iran\u2019s nuclear program and its stockpile of highly enriched uranium<\/a>. Mr. Trump has vowed to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, and some of the discussions<\/a> have revolved around whether Iran would agree to suspend enrichment or close nuclear facilities.<\/p>\n As Mr. Trump and his administration alternated between expressing optimism and threats, Iran appeared to be tightening its grip on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has tried to blockade the waterway since the early days of the war, throttling maritime traffic and rattling global energy markets.<\/p>\n