Trump Says War Is Near End

U.S. President Donald Trump said the war in Iran was “very close to over” in clips of an interview set to air Wednesday, while the U.S. military said its blockade on Iranian ports had been “fully implemented.”

Pakistan said Tuesday it was pursuing efforts to help the U.S. and Iran negotiate an end to the war, after Trump told the New York Post earlier that a second round of talks with Iran “could be happening over next two days.”

The fighting in the Middle East has killed at least 3,000 people in Iran, more than 2,100 in Lebanon, 23 in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states. Thirteen U.S. service members also have been killed.

Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif will travel to Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey this week during a diplomatic push to secure a new round of talks between the United States and Iran.

South Korea said it provided information to Iran, the United States and Gulf nations concerning 26 vessels from South Korea that are stuck in the Strait of Hormuz. (AP)