Exiled prince says Iran regime has become IRGC-run dictatorship

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi discussed regional developments and Islamabad’s efforts to mediate an end to the Iran conflict, Pakistan’s foreign ministry said.

“Both sides underscored the importance of continuing a durable ceasefire and ensuring normal passage through the Strait of Hormuz,” the ministry said in a statement on Tuesday.

The call came ahead of planned talks in Beijing later this week between US President Donald Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping.

Qatar’s prime minister and foreign minister warned Iran against using the Strait of Hormuz to “pressure or to blackmail” countries astride the Persian Gulf.

“In the past few weeks, we have seen the Strait of Hormuz being used as a weapon in this war,” Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said at a press conference in Doha alongside Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan.

“It’s an international water corridor that should be always protected and should be always safeguarded,” he added. “This current state of the strait and what’s happening over there should never be repeated.”

US President Donald Trump on Tuesday said Iran would stop enriching uranium and abandon any effort to build a nuclear weapon, even as talks between Washington and Tehran remain stalled.

“100% they’re going to stop,” Trump said during an interview on WABC’s Sid and Friends in the Morning.

Trump said he had been directly engaged with Iranian officials during the talks.

“I deal with them,” Trump said. “And they said that we’re going to get the dust. I call it the nuclear dust because it’s appropriate. And we’re going to get it.”

The president said the United States did not need to rush a deal.

“We’re not going to rush anything, we have a blockade,” Trump said.

A senior Pentagon official said on Tuesday the estimated cost of US military operations linked to the war with Iran had risen to nearly $29 billion from an earlier estimate of $25 billion.

Jules W. Hurst III, performing the duties of under secretary of war (comptroller) and chief financial officer, said the revised figure reflected updated assessments.

"At the time of testimony from the ask it was $25 billion," Hurst told lawmakers during a House Armed Services Committee hearing. "But the joint staff team and the comptroller team are constantly looking at that estimate. And so now we think it's closer to 29."

"That's because of updated repair and replacement of equipment cost, and also just general operational costs," he said.

Lawmakers have pressed the administration for a fuller accounting of the costs of "Operation Epic Fury," the US campaign linked to fighting with Iran that began in late February and continues under a fragile ceasefire.

US War Secretary Pete Hegseth said on Tuesday the Pentagon had plans both to escalate military operations against Iran and to scale them back if needed, as lawmakers pressed the administration on the cost and legal basis of the conflict.

Speaking at a House Armed Services Committee hearing on the Pentagon's 2027 budget, Hegseth said the administration was prepared for multiple scenarios as fighting with Iran continued despite a fragile ceasefire.

"We have a plan to escalate if necessary. We have a plan to retrograde if necessary. We have a plan to shift assets," Hegseth said.