Germany's foreign minister said on Friday that the United States and Iran have had indirect negotiations and that representatives from both sides plan to meet shortly in Pakistan.
"Based on my information there have been indirect contacts, and preparations have been made to meet directly. That would be very soon in Pakistan, apparently," minister Johann Wadephul told Deutschlandfunk radio.
US President Donald Trump has pushed back his deadline for strikes on Iran's energy assets, saying talks on ending the war were "going very well".
Last Saturday, Trump had initially given Iran 48 hours to open the strategic strait to oil tankers, threatening to destroy its power plants, but he has now extended the deadline twice.
Trump had earlier denied that he was desperate for a deal to end the war, despite Tehran’s cool response to an American peace plan.
"Talks are ongoing and, despite erroneous statements to the contrary by the Fake News Media, and others, they are going very well," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.
The president's envoy Steve Witkoff told a cabinet meeting earlier of "strong signs" that Tehran was ready to negotiate, confirming publicly for the first time that Washington had passed a 15-point "action list" to Tehran through Pakistani officials.
"We will see where things lead, and if we can convince Iran that this is the inflection point with no good alternatives for them, other than more death and destruction," Witkoff said.
At the meeting, Trump said Iran had allowed 10 oil tankers passage through the Strait of Hormuz to show it was serious about talks.
The Iranian news agency Tasnim said Tehran had replied to Washington's 15 points and was "awaiting the other side's response."
