Pakistan hosted talks with Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia on Sunday as part of its efforts to broker ‌an end to the Iran war, with initial discussions focused on proposals to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to shipping, sources familiar with the matter said.

At the end of the first day of talks in Islamabad, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar said foreign ministers from the regional powers had discussed “possible ways ​to bring an early and permanent end to the war in the region,” and had been briefed on potential U.S.-Iran ​talks in Islamabad, Reuters reported.

The talks were held as Iran warned the U.S. against launching a ground attack and global ⁠oil prices surged amid continued fighting between Iran, the U.S. and Israel.

The countries meeting in Pakistan have floated proposals to Washington ​tied to maritime traffic in the Gulf, five sources familiar with the matter told Reuters, as part of wider efforts to stabilise shipping ​flows.

The Strait of Hormuz was previously a conduit for about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas supplies, but Iran has effectively halted shipping flows through it in response to the U.S. and Israeli air strikes that began a month ago.

Dar said all sides had expressed confidence in Pakistan’s ​role, adding that China “fully supports” the initiative.

Pakistan, which like Turkey borders Iran, has leveraged its close ties to ​both Tehran and Washington to emerge as a key diplomatic channel in the conflict, while Ankara and Cairo have also played a role.

A source from ‌Pakistan ⁠said proposals, including from Egypt, had been forwarded to the White House before Sunday’s meeting and that they included Suez Canal-style fee structures.

Two other Pakistani sources said Turkey, Egypt and Saudi Arabia could form a consortium to manage oil flows through the waterway, and had asked Pakistan to participate. The first Pakistani source said Islamabad had not been formally asked to join and maintains that it will ​not, read the report.

The proposal for a management consortium ​had been discussed with the ⁠U.S. and Iran, the sources said. The first Pakistani source said the country’s army chief Asim Munir had been in regular contact with U.S. Vice President JD Vance.

Egypt’s and Pakistan’s foreign ministries did ​not respond to a request for comment on the reported proposals. The Saudi government media office ​and the White ⁠House did not immediately reply to a comment request.

A Turkish diplomatic source said Ankara’s priority was securing a ceasefire.

“Ensuring the safe passage of ships could serve as an important confidence-building measure in this regard,” the source said, requesting anonymity.

Earlier on Sunday, Dar held separate one-on-one meetings with ⁠his Turkish ​and Egyptian counterparts, his office said.

He said in a post on X that ​Iran had agreed to allow 20 more Pakistani-flagged ships through the Strait of Hormuz.

Pakistan ​will host Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt for talks from Sunday ‌on the Iran war as Islamabad positions itself as a potential venue for U.S.-Iran negotiations on the month-old conflict, Reuters reported.

The four countries’ foreign ministers will hold “in-depth discussions on a range of issues, ​including efforts to de-escalate tensions in the region” during the two-day talks, ​Pakistan’s foreign ministry said in a statement on Saturday.

Turkish Foreign Minister ⁠Hakan Fidan said the meeting would seek to establish a mechanism aimed at ​de-escalation.

“We would discuss where the negotiations in this war are heading and how ​these four countries assess the situation and what can be done,” he told broadcaster A Haber late on Friday.

The four nations have been involved in trying to mediate between Washington and ​Tehran in the war launched by the U.S. and Israel on February 28, ​and all are acutely vulnerable to threats to energy supplies and trade routes.

Pakistan has conveyed to ‌Tehran ⁠a U.S. proposal for ending the war and offered to host talks, with Iranian officials indicating any negotiations could take place in Pakistan or Turkey.

U.S. President Donald Trump has said talks with Iran were going “very well,” but Tehran denies talking with ​Washington.

Iran has been reviewing ​the 15-point U.S. ⁠proposal, although one official has dismissed it as “one-sided and unfair”. Its demands range from dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme to curbing ​its missile development and effectively handing over control of the ​Strait of ⁠Hormuz, according to sources and reports.

Turkey’s Fidan told an Istanbul conference on Saturday that the world’s new “polycentric system” requires a solution to guarding vital energy and trade routes. ⁠He ​said Turkey’s high-level dialogue aims to swiftly chart ​out “actionable steps” to end the war before there is further destruction to the region and global economy.

Twelve U.S. troops were wounded, ​two of them ‌seriously, in an Iranian military strike on Prince ​Sultan Air Base ​in Saudi Arabia, a ⁠U.S. official told ​Reuters on Friday.

The latest ​casualties add to the more than 300 U.S. ​military service members ​who have been wounded since ‌the ⁠war against Iran started on February 28. 

Earlier on Friday, ​the U.S. ​military ⁠said 273 of them had ​already returned to ​duty. ⁠Thirteen U.S. troops have been killed in ⁠the ​conflict.