The leaders of China and Spain on Tuesday pledged to strengthen their relations and work to safeguard multilateralism at a time when the world is being impacted by various conflicts, including the recent war in Iran, during a meeting in Beijing on Tuesday.

"We should strengthen communication, consolidate mutual trust, cooperate closely, oppose the world's retrogression to the law of the jungle, and jointly safeguard genuine multilateralism," said Chinese President Xi Jinping during a reception for Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez at the Great Hall of the People.

Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Monday a ceasefire between the United States and Iran was "holding" and that efforts were underway to reach an agreement after weekend talks failed to do so.

Pakistani, Egyptian and Turkish mediators will continue talks with the U.S. and Iran in the coming days in an effort to bridge the remaining gaps and reach a deal to end the war, a regional source and a U.S. official told U.S. news portal Axios.

"All parties still believe a deal is possible. The mediators hope that narrowing the gaps could enable another round of negotiations before the ceasefire expires on April 21," Axios said.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Sunday he does not care if Iran comes back to negotiations with the United States after talks in Pakistan failed to produce a deal.

"I don't care if they come back or not. If they don't come back, I'm fine," Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, upon his return from Florida.

The U.S. military said it would begin a blockade of all Iranian ports Monday, after talks between the warring sides in Pakistan collapsed, and despite the Iranian military warning that it would treat any such action as an act of piracy.

Trump had announced on social media he would blockade the strategic Strait of Hormuz trade route that he has been demanding Tehran fully re-open, after Vice President JD Vance left negotiations with an Iranian delegation in Islamabad.

Pope Leo XIV on Monday began a landmark visit to Algeria in the first trip to the Muslim-majority country by a pontiff.

Pope Leo XIV on Monday said he had "no intention to debate" with Donald Trump, after the U.S. president criticized him over his comments on the U.S.-Iran war.

Turkey's foreign minister said on Monday he believed Iran and the United States are "sincere" about reaching a ceasefire despite the failure of Pakistan-mediated talks on the weekend.

Iran and the United States failed to strike a deal Sunday to end the war in the Middle East, but there was no immediate return to hostilities and world leaders quickly urged both sides to pursue the diplomatic route to peace.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Sunday ordered a U.S. naval blockade of the Strait of Hormuz in response to Iran's "unyielding" refusal to give up its nuclear ambitions during peace talks in Islamabad.

While acknowledging that the marathon negotiations in Pakistan had gone "well" and "most points were agreed to," Trump said Tehran had refused to concede on the issue of its nuclear program.