WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump signaled that Iran had offered a “present” as a show of good faith in negotiations the U.S. leader has claimed are ongoing to end a 25-day conflict that’s upended global markets, even as he deploys more troops to the Middle East.

Trump wouldn’t detail the gift, “worth a tremendous amount of money,” but confirmed it was related to energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz. A Thai ship passed through the vital waterway earlier on Tuesday, Iran’s Tasnim news agency reported.

“We’re in negotiations right now,” Trump told reporters at the White House, noting that special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance are all involved. Still, Trump’s optimism contrasted with the Pentagon’s movement of more ground troops to the region.

Trump claimed again, as on Monday, that Iran was in agreement on some parameters of a potential deal — starting from the U.S. insistence that the Islamic Republic is prevented from obtaining nuclear weapons.

“They’re talking to us, and they’re talking sense. It all starts with they cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said. “Nobody knows who to talk to, but we’re actually talking to the right people, and they want to make a deal so badly, you have no idea how badly they want to make it.”

There remained broad uncertainty about who the U.S. is negotiating with, the structure of talks, and the outlines of any potential agreement.

The U.S. and a group of regional mediators are discussing the possibility of holding high-level peace talks with Iran as soon as Thursday, but are awaiting a response from Tehran, Axios reported earlier, citing two sources with knowledge of the discussions.

While Trump said on Monday he’s refraining from U.S. strikes on energy sites, giving the Islamic Republic five days to reach a deal, U.S. Marines are on their way to the region, raising the prospects of ground operations. The Pentagon is also planning to send a brigade combat team from the Army’s elite 82nd Airborne Division to the region to support operations, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing two U.S. officials.

The White House didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment on reports of the status of peace talks, nor on the potential additional deployment.

Iran and Israel showed no signs of letup in the conflict. Iran turned back a container ship from the Strait of Hormuz and Israel kept up strikes on the Islamic Republic, with its Defense Minister Israel Katz saying the campaign would continue “at full intensity.”

Brent crude rose back above $104 a barrel, after plunging 11% on Monday, following the Journal’s report. Earlier, several Gulf states signaled willingness to join the U.S.-Israel campaign if Iran strikes their critical infrastructure.

Pakistan is making a push to mediate an end to the war, and Trump has spoken with its army chief Asim Munir about the conflict, people familiar with the matter said. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said in a social media post on Tuesday that Pakistan would be “honored” to mediate the talks — a post that Trump later shared on his own account without saying whether he would accept the offer.

Global leaders are jockeying for sway in a conflict that has seen energy prices soar and attacks escalate.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he pushed for peace in a phone call with Trump that touched on the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for India’s energy imports.

Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman has been pushing Trump to continue the war to help remake the region, the New York Times reported on Tuesday, citing people briefed by U.S. officials on the conversations. The White House declined to comment on the president’s private discussions.

Iran stopped natural gas exports to Turkey following Israel’s strike on the giant South Pars gas field last week, according to people familiar with the matter, underlining the risk to energy distribution.

Israel’s pledge to maintain attacks came after Trump postponed an assault on Iran’s energy infrastructure, citing “productive conversations” with Tehran. The U.S. president’s claims of behind-the-scenes diplomacy were widely denied by Iranian officials, causing confusion over the participants in the talks and the likelihood of a potential deal.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked close confidant Ron Dermer to monitor any U.S.-Iranian negotiations to make sure the country’s interests are upheld, an Israeli official said.

U.S. allies including Saudi Arabia and the UAE have hardened their stances against Tehran due to consistent bombardment of their territories.

Saudi Arabia told the U.S. it’s ready to strike Iran if its own power and water plants were targeted by the Islamic Republic, according to people with knowledge of the matter. Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud said last week the kingdom’s restraint isn’t “unlimited.”

Trump told reporters Monday that special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held discussions a day earlier with a “top person” in Iran, and said Tehran wants to “make a deal.” Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei wasn’t involved in the talks, he added.

Axios reported it was Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, though the Iranian parliament speaker denied negotiations took place.

“Iran has one more opportunity to end its threats to America and their allies, and we hope they take it,” Trump said. “It could very well end up being a very good deal for everybody.”

Conflicting comments from Iranian officials and through state media have only added to confusion around the status of negotiations.

Tehran received U.S. requests through mediators for talks to end the war, the state-run IRNA cited foreign ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei as saying. “Necessary warnings were given about the severe consequences of any aggression against Iran’s critical infrastructure,” Baghaei said.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has in recent days held calls with counterparts in Turkey, Oman, Pakistan, Egypt, Russia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and South Korea.

The deputy speaker of Iran’s parliament ruled out negotiations with Trump. Fars quoted Ali Nikzad as saying Iran would not negotiate “with someone who is a liar and in whom there is no sign of honor, humanity, or conscience.”

Iran appointed a hardline veteran of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as the country’s top national-security leader, replacing Ali Larijani, who was killed in an Israeli airstrike last week. Mohammad-Bagher Zolghadr is a military man with little diplomatic experience.

Countries including Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Oman have engaged in back-channel talks with Iran to contain the war and seek a ceasefire.

The early indications suggest potentially arduous negotiations, with no guarantee the sides will be able to clinch a deal that ends the war. Iran has previously insisted on reparations and pledges from the U.S. and Israel that they don’t attack in the future — demands Trump and Netanyahu are unlikely to accept.

The conflict has claimed more than 4,350 lives. About three-quarters of those have been in Iran, while over 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, where Israel is fighting Tehran-backed militant group Hezbollah.

Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas, has all but stopped. Only a few tankers have passed through since the conflict began, often after engagement with Iran.

Iran has started charging commercial vessels transit fees for passing through the strait, another sign of Tehran’s control over the world’s most important maritime energy channel.

The U.S. and Israel have said they want to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. The U.S. would take Iran’s uranium stockpile and the two sides are already aligned on the terms, Trump claimed.

Iran has long denied pursuing atomic arms, though it has restricted United Nations inspectors’ access into the country since an earlier round of Israel and U.S. strikes last June.

Trump suggested the U.S. and Iran could jointly control the Strait of Hormuz if they reach a deal.

At home, Trump faces uneven support for the war effort, even within his own political party. U.S. gas prices at the pump have risen each day since the conflict began, marking the longest such streak since May 2022, according to American Automobile Association data.

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With assistance from John Bowker, Mia Gindis and Eltaf Najafizada.

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