A major update on a potential ceasefire between the US and Iran is expected imminently with reports of "good news" as President Donald Trump's deadline looms closer.
Pakistan, which is acting as a mediator between the two countries, requested for Mr Trump to grant a two-week extension to a deadline he imposed on Tehran to end its blockade of Gulf oil.
A regional source told CNN “some good news is expected from both sides soon” and that discussions were steered directly by Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir.
Mr Trump said he was about to be fully briefed on Pakistan’s two-week deadline extension request, before lauding Mr Sharif as "a highly respected man, all over".
Mr Sharif said: "To allow diplomacy to run its course, I earnestly request President Trump to extend the deadline for two weeks. Pakistan, in all sincerity, requests the Iranian brothers to open Strait of Hormuz for a corresponding period of two weeks as a goodwill gesture.
He urged "all warring parties" to observe a ceasefire everywhere for two weeks "to allow diplomacy to achieve conclusive termination of war".
The Pakistani Prime Minister added that diplomatic efforts to settle the war peacefully were "progressing steadily, strongly and powerfully with the potential to lead to substantive results in near future".
Sources told reporters that talks between the US and Iran were at risk of being derailed following Tehran's attacks on Saudi Arabian industrial facilities.
President Donald Trump has issued a dire warning to the US
|REUTERS
A personal envoy of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres plans to visit Iran as part of his efforts to encourage an end to the Iran war, but his travel plans will depend on security and logistics, a UN source said.
Jean Arnault, a veteran UN diplomat named as Mr Guterres's envoy on the conflict last month, headed to the Middle East on Monday.
Mr Trump's threat to destroy every bridge and power plant in Iran unless it ends the blockade of Gulf oil unnerved global leaders, shook financial and energy markets and drew widespread condemnation, including from the head of the United Nations and Pope Leo.
Some international law experts have said a widespread attack on civilian infrastructure could constitute a war crime.
People clear rubble of a Synagogue, which was damaged in a strike, from a street in Tehran
|REUTERS
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The Israeli military said there was a possibility of increased fire towards Israel as Trump's ultimatum nears. It said it was ready to operate both "defensively and offensively".
Iranians were also watching the clock in hope of a reprieve. Shima, 37, from the central city of Isfahan, said: "I hope it is another bluff by Trump."
Mr Trump has abruptly called off similar threats over the past several weeks, citing what he has described as productive negotiations with figures in Iran he did not identify. Tehran has denied any such substantive talks have taken place.
Brian Finucane, a former US State Department legal adviser now with the International Crisis Group, said Trump's remarks "could plausibly be interpreted as a threat to commit genocide" under US and international law.