Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said Tuesday she was suspending Italy's defense agreement with Israel, which involves the exchange of military equipment and technology research, news agencies reported.

"In view of the current situation, the government has decided to suspend the automatic renewal of the defense agreement with Israel," Meloni said on the sidelines of an event in Verona, according to Italian news agency Ansa.

French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will co-chair a conference Friday in Paris, bringing together non-belligerent nations willing to participate in a mission in the Strait of Hormuz “when security conditions allow.”

Other participants will take part via videoconference, Macron’s office said. European and other partners are ready to contribute to a “purely defensive mission aimed at restoring freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz,” the statement said.

Pakistani officials said Tuesday that Islamabad has proposed a second round of talks to the U.S. and Iran, while U.S. Vice President JD Vance earlier said negotiations with Iran “did make some progress" and U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday “we’ve been called by the other side” and “they want to work a deal.”

The Pakistani officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter with the press.

Chinese President Xi Jinping floated a four-point proposal for promoting Middle East peace during a meeting Tuesday with Sheikh Khaled bin Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the crown prince of Abu Dhabi, Chinese official news agency Xinhua reported.

Xi’s proposal calls for upholding the principle of regional peaceful coexistence and respecting national sovereignty while underscoring the principles of coordinating development and security, Xinhua reported.

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.

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.