Israel’s military said it had launched a new wave of strikes Wednesday in Tehran, the Iranian capital, even as President Donald Trump appeared to support Pakistan’s offer to broker talks between the United States and Iran.

Trump shared a social media post Tuesday in which Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif of Pakistan said his country was ready to host such talks. Pakistan was said to have delivered a 15-point peace plan from the United States to Iran, according to two officials briefed on the matter.

It is unclear whether Iran would accept the U.S. plan as a basis for negotiations to end the war, now in its fourth week, or whether Israel supports it. Iran has publicly denied Trump’s claims that negotiations with the United States were underway.

And there were mixed signals from Washington over a winding down of hostilities, as the Pentagon on Wednesday ordered the deployment of about 2,000 more soldiers to the Middle East, two officials said. Their arrival, scheduled for later this week, would bring the number of additional U.S. ground troops deployed to the region to nearly 7,000.

Last month, Trump sent troops and military assets to the region even as his envoys held indirect talks with Iranian officials, and he eventually ordered the strikes alongside Israel that started the war with Iran on Feb. 28.

Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, said on social media Wednesday that Iran was “closely monitoring all U.S. movements in the region, especially troop deployments.” He added: “Do not test our resolve to defend our land.”

The latest fledgling diplomatic efforts came amid fresh attacks across the region, with Israel’s military saying Wednesday that it had targeted government infrastructure in Tehran and was intercepting Iranian missiles launched toward Israel.

In the Persian Gulf, Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said at least 30 drones had been intercepted over the kingdom since Tuesday evening. Kuwait’s Defense Ministry said at least six drones had been intercepted, and a fire erupted overnight at Kuwait’s international airport after drones hit a fuel tank, according to the country’s civil aviation authority. In Bahrain, air-raid sirens sounded early Wednesday.

The prospect of an off-ramp from the war sent oil prices down sharply Wednesday morning. Brent crude, the international benchmark, fell 6%, to $94 a barrel. Stocks in Asia, which buys about 80% of the oil shipped through the Strait of Hormuz, opened higher as investors reacted to signals of a possible de-escalation.

Here’s What Else We’re Covering:

— U.S. proposal: The Trump administration’s peace plan is said to address Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, which the United States and Israel have targeted, according to two officials who requested anonymity to discuss sensitive details.

— Strait of Hormuz: The U.S. proposal is also said to discuss maritime routes. Iran has told the United Nations’ maritime organization that “nonhostile” ships may pass safely through the strait. Iran defined nonhostile vessels as those that “neither participate in nor support acts of aggression against Iran” or belong to the United States or Israel. Shipping analysts said Iran’s offer was unlikely to persuade established tanker operators to venture into the narrow waterway.

— Fighting in Lebanon: Warplanes roared low over Beirut, the capital, early Wednesday, continuing until dawn, as Israel kept up its offensive against the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah. The Israeli military struck the southern suburbs of the capital, a Hezbollah stronghold, as well as several towns and villages in the south, Lebanon’s National News Agency said. The Israeli military also said it had targeted gas stations that were part of Hezbollah’s financial infrastructure.

— Death tolls: Iran’s U.N. ambassador has said that at least 1,348 civilians have been killed in the country since the start of the war — a toll that has not been updated since March 11. The Human Rights Activists News Agency has reported that more than 1,440 civilians have been killed in Iran. More than 1,000 people in Lebanon have been killed, the authorities there said on Thursday. At least 15 people were killed in Iranian attacks on Israel, officials said. The American death toll stands at 13 service members.

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Eric Schmitt, Elian Peltier, Adam Rasgon and Abdi Latif Dahir/Arash Khamooshi
c. 2026 The New York Times Company