Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif said Tuesday that "diplomatic efforts for peaceful settlement of the ongoing war in the Middle East are progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future," despite the unprecedented tensions in the region.

Pope Leo said Tuesday threats to inflict widespread damage on civilian targets in Iran were "unacceptable" and could breach international law .

Progress has been made in the past 24 hours in the negotiations between the U.S. and Iran, though reaching a ceasefire deal by U.S. President Donald Trump's 8pm ET deadline still looks like a long shot, a U.S. official, an Israeli official and two other sources with knowledge of the talks told U.S. news portal Axios.

The White House denied Tuesday that remarks by Vice President JD Vance about military operations in Iran had contained any suggestion of a U.S. nuclear strike against the Islamic republic.

Ukraine is proposing to Russia a pause in attacks on each other's energy infrastructure over the Orthodox Easter holiday, which will be observed this coming weekend, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said.

The offer was made through the United States, which has been mediating talks between delegations from Moscow and Kyiv, Zelensky said, as Russia's invasion stretches into a fifth year.

One gunman was killed and two others were wounded in a shootout with police outside the Israeli consulate in Istanbul on Tuesday, the local governor said, adding two officers were lightly wounded.

Turkish public broadcaster TRT had previously reported that two of the three attackers had been killed.

U S. President Donald Trump doubled down Monday on his threat to wreck Iran's civilian infrastructure, warning U.S. forces could destroy every bridge and power plant in the country within four hours and that a truce proposal from international mediators was not yet enough.

Five weeks into the Middle East war triggered by a joint U.S.-Israeli air assault on Tehran, the U.S. leader has demanded that Iran reopen the Strait of Hormuz to international shipping by midnight GMT on Tuesday, or face a newly devastating round of bombing.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday the United States has studied a proposal for a 45-day ceasefire in the Iran war, a move he called a "very significant step" in the conflict.

"It's a significant proposal, it's a significant step. It's not good enough, but it's a very significant step," Trump told reporters at the White House, adding that intermediaries "are negotiating now."

Iran has rejected a proposed truce in its war with the United States and Israel, state media reported Monday, despite a stark threat by U.S. President Donald Trump to destroy its vital infrastructure.

The U.S., Iran and a group of regional mediators are discussing the terms for a potential 45-day ceasefire that could lead to a permanent end to the war, four U.S., Israeli and regional sources with knowledge of the talks told U.S. news portal Axios.