Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth said Tuesday that the next days of the Iran war will be "decisive" while refusing to rule out U.S. ground forces playing a role in the conflict.

Russia has not seen "clearly formulated" proposals from Ukraine about a temporary ceasefire over the Easter holidays, the Kremlin said Tuesday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky suggested a truce on Monday, saying Kyiv was ready for a mutual halt in attacks on energy facilities to ease a global oil crisis triggered by the Iran war.

Top European diplomats visited Ukraine on Tuesday to mark the anniversary of atrocities committed in a town near Kyiv by Russia's invading forces four years ago.

With U.S.-led efforts to end the war on hold and Washington's attention gripped by the conflict in the Middle East, European governments are keen to keep a spotlight on the continent's biggest land war in decades, now in its fifth year.

U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday voiced hope for working with elements within Iran's government, saying the United States privately had received positive messages, AFP reported.

Rubio said there were internal "fractures" inside Iran and that the United States hoped that figures with "power to deliver" take charge.

U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday that the United States is in "serious discussions" with "a new, and more reasonable, regime" in Iran with the aim of ending "military operations."

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said Sunday that the United States was plotting a ground attack despite publicly engaging in diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the war.

"The enemy publicly sends messages of negotiation and dialogue while secretly planning a ground attack," Ghalibaf said in a statement carried by the official IRNA news agency.

The Revolutionary Guard’s warning on Sunday said it would consider Israeli universities and branches of American universities in the region “legitimate targets,” state media reported.

Top diplomats from key regional powers were gathering in Pakistan on Sunday to discuss how to end the fighting in the Middle East, but there were few signs of progress as Israel and the U.S. kept up strikes on Iran, and Tehran responded by firing missiles and drones across the region.

Pakistan said foreign ministers from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt were participating in the talks in Islamabad. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said he and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian held "extensive discussions" on regional hostilities.

Iran has agreed to allow humanitarian aid and agricultural shipments through the Strait of Hormuz following a request from the United Nations.

U.S. President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff said Friday he believes Iran will hold talks with Washington "this week" to end the month-long war in the Middle East.