Pakistan offers to facilitate U.S.-Iran war talks as Trump and Tehran give mixed signals

Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Tuesday said his country is willing to host talks between the U.S. and Iran in pursuit of a "comprehensive settlement" of the ongoing war.

"Pakistan welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the WAR in Middle East, in the interest of peace and stability in region and beyond," Sharif said on X.

"Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict," he said.

The post tagged the social media profiles of President Donald Trump, U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Trump, on his Truth Social platform, shared a screenshot of Sharif's post later Tuesday morning.

The messaging followed reporting that regional leaders are engaged in behind-the-scenes diplomatic efforts to help broker an end to the conflict, which has resulted in thousands of deaths and wreaked havoc on the global economy since it began less than a month ago.

But much remains unclear about where things stand between the U.S. and Iran, which have made contradictory claims about the status of their discussions.

At the same time as the diplomatic efforts appear to be evolving, the Pentagon is reportedly readying plans to deploy about 3,000 soldiers from the Army's 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.

A written order to deploy those troops to support operations in Iran is expected in the coming hours, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday afternoon, citing two U.S. officials.

The reported development follows at least two other large U.S. deployments to the Middle East in recent days, joining the tens of thousands of troops already stationed in the region.

The U.S. has not ordered boots on the ground. Trump last week told a reporter he is "not putting troops anywhere," but added, "If I were, I certainly wouldn't tell you."

Asked about the Journal's report, an Army spokesperson told CNBC, "I can tell you that the 82nd Airborne Division is currently at Fort Bragg, NC."

Trump said Monday that top U.S. negotiators and their Iranian counterparts have been engaged in "very, very strong talks" as recently as Sunday evening.

As a result of those purported talks, Trump said he would postpone the ultimatum he had issued Saturday for Iran to either open the Strait of Hormuz within 48 hours or face major strikes on their power plants and energy infrastructure.

U.S. stocks rallied on that announcement. Iranian officials, however, denied that any such discussions have taken place.

CNN on Tuesday reported that an Iranian source said the U.S. has initiated "outreach" to Iran, though full-on negotiations have not yet begun.

That statement also contradicts Trump, who said Monday that Iran had reached out to the U.S.: "I didn't call. They called. They want to make a deal."

The Washington Post, citing U.S. and foreign officials, reported Tuesday morning that Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey have acted as intermediaries in talks between Witkoff and Araghchi.

The Wall Street Journal reported that the foreign ministers of those countries and Saudi Arabia had gathered in Riyadh on Thursday for talks on finding a diplomatic end to the war.

But Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman over the last week has pushed Trump to continue fighting Iran, The New York Times reported, citing people briefed by U.S. officials on their conversations.

This is developing news. Please check back for updates.

— CNBC's Ryan Ruggiero contributed to this report.