U.S. President Donald Trump threatened Wednesday to restart bombing on Iran if it does not agree to a deal to end the war.
"If they don't agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before," Trump said in a social media post.
Washington believes it is close to reaching an agreement with Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, U.S. news outlet Axios reported Wednesday, citing two officials.
According to Axios, the two sides are close to agreeing on a "one-page memorandum of understanding to end the war and set a framework for more detailed nuclear negotiations."
It said the deal would involve Iran committing to a moratorium on nuclear enrichment and the United States agreeing to release billions of dollars of frozen Iranian funds.
Washington is reportedly awaiting a response from Tehran on several key points in the next 48 hours.
"Nothing has been agreed yet, but the sources said this was the closest the parties had been to an agreement since the war began," Axios said.
Trump has repeatedly said that an agreement is close, without ever reaching one.
Trump launched "Project Freedom" on May 4 to help vessels leave the strait.
But he suspended the operation after just one day following requests from "mediator Pakistan and other countries," saying "Great Progress has been made toward a Complete and Final Agreement" with Tehran.
In its current form, the agreement would declare an end to the war and the start of a 30-day period of negotiations, Axios said.
The negotiations could take place in Islamabad or Geneva, it added.
The U.S. leader said Washington's blockade of Iranian ports would remain in place as Tehran kept up its own closure of the vital trade route in response to the U.S.-Israeli war on the country, which has rocked markets and spiked fuel prices.
"We have mutually agreed that, while the Blockade will remain in full force and effect, Project Freedom... will be paused for a short period of time to see whether or not the Agreement can be finalized and signed," Trump wrote late on May 5.
The decision means more than 22,000 seafarers and 1,500 commercial ships are still waiting to transit the strait, according to U.S. officials.
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif — a key mediator in the Middle East war — wrote on X that he was "hopeful" the current momentum would bring help bring an end to the conflict with a "lasting agreement."
Trump made the abrupt U-turn as Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met his Chinese counterpart, Wang Yi, in Beijing for talks yesterday, his first trip to Tehran's close ally since the beginning of the war.
According to Iranian state TV, Araghchi told Wang that Tehran would "only accept a fair and comprehensive agreement."
After the talks, Wang called for an end to hostilities and for both countries to reopen the Strait of Hormuz "as soon as possible," his ministry said.
Before the visit, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a vocal China critic, called on Beijing to put pressure on Araghchi to end the blockade of the crucial waterway.
"I hope the Chinese tell him [Araghchi] what he needs to be told, and that is, that what you were doing in the straits is causing you to be globally isolated," Rubio said.
Trump's tone came hours after Rubio said the U.S. had completed its offensive operations against Iran.
Investors welcomed the decision to pause the ship-guiding plan, with the Brent oil price tumbling more than 5 percent and West Texas Intermediate back below $100 a barrel.
Araghchi was visiting China days before Trump is also scheduled to visit on May 14 and 15 to meet President Xi Jinping — a trip he had delayed due to the war.
