The United States and Iran have traded proposals for a suspension of Iranian nuclear activities but remain far apart on the duration of any agreement, according to Iranian and U.S. officials.

In the Strait of Hormuz, a sticking point in the week-old ceasefire between the two countries, questions persisted about a day-old U.S. Navy blockade. Tracking data showed that several ships had passed through the waterway before and after the U.S. deadline, including some that had departed from Iranian ports. President Donald Trump announced the blockade after high-level U.S.-Iranian negotiations broke down in Pakistan over the weekend.

During the negotiations in Islamabad, the United States asked Iran for a 20-year suspension of uranium enrichment. The Iranians, in a formal response sent Monday, said they would agree to up to five years, according to two senior Iranian officials and one U.S. official. Trump rejected Iran’s offer, according to a U.S. official.

Still, the back-and-forth suggested there was room for a deal. Oil prices fell and stocks rose in Asia and Europe on Tuesday as investors weighed a possible path to peace.

Officials also said they were discussing a new round of face-to-face talks but provided no details.

In the strait, a vital conduit for global oil and gas shipments, there were no immediate reports of ships being stopped by the U.S. military, which has offered few details on what it would do if merchant vessels tried to run through the blockade.

Here’s What Else We’re Covering:

— Lebanon: Israel launched airstrikes in two cities in southern Lebanon on Tuesday, Lebanon’s National News Agency reported, hours before Israeli and Lebanese officials were set to hold rare talks in Washington. Secretary of State Marco Rubio will participate, according to the State Department. The meeting is expected to be largely preparatory and is not likely to produce an immediate deal, according to a Lebanese official and another person briefed on the plans.

— Energy: The International Energy Agency on Tuesday said it expected demand for oil in the current quarter to shrink by 1.5 million barrels a day, which would be the deepest decline since the COVID-19 pandemic. Resuming the flow of supplies through the Strait of Hormuz is “the single most important variable in easing the pressure on energy supplies, prices and the global economy,” the agency said.

— Death tolls: The Human Rights Activists News Agency said at least 1,701 civilians, including 254 children, had been killed in Iran as of Wednesday. Lebanon’s Health Ministry on Monday said that 2,089 people had been killed in the latest fighting between Israel and Hezbollah, including 357 in a wave of Israeli strikes last Wednesday. In attacks attributed to Iran, at least 32 people have been killed in Persian Gulf nations. At least 22 people had been killed in Israel as of Sunday, as well as 12 Israeli soldiers fighting in Lebanon. The American death toll stands at 13 service members.

—

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Tyler Pager, Eric Schmitt, Farnaz Fassihi, David E. Sanger and Aurelien Breeden/Arash Khamooshi
c. 2026 The New York Times Company