TEHRAN — Iranian President Masud Pezeshkian held a phone conversation with European Council President Antonio Costa on March 31, expressing willingness to end the conflict with the United States under certain conditions, according to a statement from his office. The call came more than a month after the conflict began on Feb. 28.

"We possess the necessary will to end this conflict, provided that essential conditions are met -- especially the guarantees required to prevent repetition of the aggression," Pezeshkian said. "The solution to normalizing the situation is the cessation of their aggressive attacks," he added.

The U.S. put forward a 15-point plan last week that includes requirements for Iran to dismantle its nuclear facilities, limit its missile capabilities, and end its support for regional proxy forces. On March 25, Iran said it was reviewing the proposal and had put forward five conditions that needed to be met for the conflict to end. Senior Iranian officials have denied that Tehran is in negotiations with Washington.

On March 31, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in an interview with broadcaster Al Jazeera that he continues to receive messages from U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff but that receiving those messages does not mean negotiations are taking place. U.S. President Donald Trump said in recent days that a deal to end the war was nearing. U.S. forces continue to build up in the Middle East.

Following Pezeshkian's comments, U.S. markets rose and oil prices fell. The war has killed thousands of people across at least nine countries.

International diplomatic efforts also expanded on March 31, when Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar met with Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi in Beijing. The two called for Iran and the U.S. to work toward ending the war, and China and Pakistan vowed to strengthen strategic communication and coordination.

Political analyst Anton Penkovsky said contacts between Iran and the U.S. are likely continuing despite public denials by Tehran. "The first is the scope of restrictions on Iran's nuclear program, including the dismantling of Iran's nuclear infrastructure and the transfer of all nuclear materials to the United States -- a position on which the United States has insisted and, apparently, is not willing to make concessions or compromises," Penkovsky said. "For Iran, this is a matter of sovereignty and strategic deterrence against its enemies in the region," he added.

Retired U.S. Army General Joseph L. Votel, who served as commander of U.S. Central Command from 2016 to 2019, said Iran is using tactical delay as a strategy in talks. "You have to recognize, first and foremost, that part of the purpose of those deployments is a messaging to the Iranians," Votel said. "This is also about making sure we can provide the maximum amount of options for our military leaders and our civilian leaders, so that, if the president decides something, he has an array of forces from which his military commanders can devise courses of action and approaches that he might approve," he added.