Iran's defense ministry on Saturday said the United States was seeking a "face-saving" way to exit the war, as U.S. envoys travelled to Pakistan for peace negotiations.

U.S. President Donald Trump is planning to send his special envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Pakistan to participate in talks with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in the coming days, two administration officials tell CNN.

Vice President JD Vance is not currently planning to attend given Iran’s Speaker of the Parliament, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, is not participating either, the officials said. Ghalibaf is viewed internally by White House officials as the head of the Iran delegation and Vance’s counterpart.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez on Friday refused to be drawn into a dispute with the United States over reports that the Pentagon is weighing whether to punish members of NATO that fail to support American operations in the Iran war.

Among those in the firing line is Spain, which has refused to allow U.S. forces involved in the war to use bases on its territory or airspace. Spain says that U.S.-Israeli actions in the Iran war contravenes international law.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Thursday that the United States is under no pressure to end the war with Iran, but "the clock is ticking" for Tehran, as disruption from the conflict batters the world economy.

"I have all the time in the World, but Iran doesn't -- The clock is ticking!" Trump said on social media, adding that Iran's military was destroyed and "their leaders are no longer with us, the Blockade is airtight and strong and, from there, it only gets worse."

The USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carrier has arrived in the Middle East, the U.S. military said Thursday, bringing the number of the massive American warships operating in the region to three.

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said on Thursday that Israel was "prepared to resume the war against Iran," adding that Israel was awaiting a green light from the United States to return Iran to "the Stone Age".

"The IDF (Israeli army) is ready both defensively and offensively, and the targets have been marked," Katz said in a video statement.

The Pentagon blasted as cherry picking and false on Thursday a news report saying that the department assessed it could take six months to completely clear the Strait of Hormuz of Iranian-laid mines.

The Washington Post reported on Wednesday that the Pentagon shared the six-month estimate during a classified briefing for the members of the House Armed Services Committee, citing three unidentified officials familiar with the discussion.

Britain and France Thursday voiced hope that a military plan to protect the Strait of Hormuz was coming together and would succeed in restoring trade flows through the vital passage.

U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday vowed the United States would destroy any vessel laying mines in the Strait of Hormuz, as he ratchets up pressure on Iran to reopen the crucial sea passage.

"I have ordered the United States Navy to shoot and kill any boat, small boats though they may be... that is putting mines in the waters of the Strait of Hormuz," Trump posted on his Truth Social platform.

The European Union on Thursday approved a massive loan package to help Ukraine meet its economic and military needs for the next two years, the bloc's Cypriot presidency said, after Hungary lifted its veto.

The EU also approved a new raft of sanctions against Russia over its war on Ukraine. The measures were prepared early this year and set to be announced in February to mark the fourth anniversary of the conflict, but Hungary and Slovakia opposed the move.