STRAIT OF HORMUZ — Iran offered to lift restrictions on movement through the Strait of Hormuz if the United States ends its blockade of Iranian ports, in a proposal delivered to Washington by Pakistan. The offer does not address Iran's nuclear program, which U.S. President Donald Trump has said must be dismantled as part of any overall deal to reopen the strait and make a ceasefire permanent.

The standoff between Iran and the U.S. in the waterway has persisted despite a ceasefire that the U.S. last week indefinitely extended after it was first agreed on April 7. The truce has largely halted fighting that began with joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran on Feb. 28. Movement through the strait remains restricted, and the U.S. continues to enforce a blockade of Iranian ports. A fifth of all traded oil and natural gas normally passes through the strait.

According to a regional official, Iran insisted on ending the U.S. blockade before new talks and wants Oman to support a mechanism to collect tolls from vessels passing through the strait. Iran's Foreign Ministry said any talks would be indirect, with Pakistani officials acting as go-betweens. Pakistan has been seeking to revive stalled negotiations, which had been expected in Islamabad over the weekend.

The White House said it would dispatch envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner to Islamabad to follow up on face-to-face talks earlier this month, but Trump called off the mission, citing a lack of progress. He suggested the talks could take place by phone instead. Trump also said that confusion within Iran's theocracy made it difficult to reach a deal.

"We have all the cards. If they want to talk, they can come to us, or they can call us," Trump said. "If they want, we can talk but we're not sending people."

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said America's approach had caused the negotiations to be delayed. "The previous one, despite the progress that had been made, could not achieve its goals," Araghchi said. He returned to Islamabad and also visited Muscat before heading to Russia, and spoke by phone with counterparts in Qatar and Saudi Arabia on Sunday.

Trump ordered the military to shoot and kill small boats that could be placing mines in the waterway. "If the U.S. continues its aggressive military actions, including naval blockades, banditry, and piracy, it will face a strong response," Iran's joint military command said.

The June contract for Brent crude was trading at around $107 per barrel on Monday, compared with $72 per barrel before the war began. Tankers full of crude became stranded in the Persian Gulf, and global shipments of oil, liquefied natural gas, fertilizer and other supplies have been disrupted by the near-closure of the strait two months into the war. According to the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, Tehran has 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity, a short step from weapons-grade levels. At least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran since the war began.