US President Donald Trump said on Friday that the war with Iran would end soon, while offering no details on how it might be brought to a close. Meanwhile, diplomatic efforts to revive negotiations remain uncertain, as concerns grow over the possibility of renewed military conflict.

"It's going to get wrapped up soon," Trump said in an interview with Kansas City radio station KCMO, adding that Washington needed a guarantee that Iran would never possess a nuclear weapon.

Trump has said the United States would not strike Iran before the November 3 midterm elections.

Pakistan's military is "cautiously optimistic" about its mediation efforts between Tehran and Washington, its spokesperson said on Friday, following a high-level delegation's visit to Iran earlier this week.

However, signs of continued US military activity have added to uncertainty over the prospects for diplomacy.

The Times of Israel reported on Thursday that more than 10 US military transport aircraft had landed at the Ovda and Nevatim airbases in southern Israel over the past week, citing analysts monitoring open-source flight-tracking data. 

Other US military cargo flights had also been reported at American bases in Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Kuwait. The contents of the aircraft were unknown.

Brad Cooper, chief of US Central Command (CENTCOM), met Trump at the White House on Thursday to brief him on military options involving Iran, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials and people familiar with the meeting. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Dan Caine also attended.

Cooper rarely briefs Trump in person, and the meeting has been interpreted as a sign of heightened US military preparations in the Middle East.

Diplomatic efforts still underway

Trump said on Wednesday that Vice President JD Vance's outreach to Iran was aimed at helping the country obtain medical supplies, following reports that Vance had sent a letter to Iran's top security official seeking to revive stalled peace talks.

Iran has received the letter but has yet to respond, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Thursday. Tehran wants Washington to meet its conditions, the report said, adding that "any position that contradicts this framework is unacceptable."

Qin Tian, deputy director of the Institute of Middle East Studies of China Institutes of Contemporary International Relations, expressed pessimism about the prospects for renewed negotiations.

The United States has made extensive preparations for a possible resumption of military action against Iran, while Tehran has gained some confidence from its previous confrontation with Washington, Qin said. Neither side has established effective deterrence against the other or achieved a new balance of power, he added.