U.S. President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Friday he believes Iran will hold talks with Washington "this week" to end the month-long war in the Middle East.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told G7 foreign ministers on Friday that the war with Iran will continue for another two to four weeks, three sources with direct knowledge told U.S. news portal Axios.

U.S.-Israeli strikes hit a uranium processing facility in central Iran on Friday, the country's atomic energy organization said.

Group of Seven foreign ministers met on Friday in France to discuss the Russia-Ukraine conflict, with deep divisions apparent over the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, following U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated complaints that America's allies have ignored or rejected requests for help in the military operation and in confronting Iran's retaliatory attacks, including the closure of the Strait of Hormuz to most international shipping.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio joined his counterparts from the G7 just 24 hours after Trump's latest round of insults lobbed at NATO and as instability in oil markets persisted with the Iran war entering its fourth week along with uncertainty over the status of potential negotiations to end the crisis.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday he would not yet strike Iranian power plants as previously threatened after a request from the government in Tehran, and added that talks with the Islamic republic were "going very well."

U.S. President Donald Trump denied Thursday he was desperate for a deal to end the Middle East war, insisting that Tehran was keen to come to the table despite the Islamic republic's cool response to an American peace plan.

U.S. President Donald Trump has told associates in recent days that he wants to avoid a protracted war in Iran and that he hopes to bring the conflict to an end in the coming weeks, the Wall Street Journal reported.

The Pentagon is developing military options for a "final blow" in Iran that could include the use of ground forces and a massive bombing campaign, two U.S. officials and two sources with knowledge told U.S. news portal Axios.

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said Thursday that indirect negotiations were being held to end the war in Iran, using Islamabad as an intermediary.

Dar, who is also deputy prime minister, described speculation about "peace talks" as "unnecessary", adding: "In reality, U.S.-Iran indirect talks are taking place through messages being relayed by Pakistan.

Iranian state television, citing an unidentified senior official, said Wednesday that Iran had rejected a peace plan proposed by the United States to end the Middle East war.