Peace talks broke down over Iran’s nuclear program, which has survived two decades of international diplomacy seeking to curtail it and more than five weeks of bombing.

The Trump administration feels “good about prospects of a deal” with Iran, the White House said Wednesday, while noting that Pakistan would be the likely location of a potential second round of talks.

CENTCOM commander Adm. Brad Cooper says a blockade of Iranian ports "has been fully implemented," as the U.S.-Iran impasse over control of the Strait of Hormuz continues amid a delicate ceasefire.

The blockade is aimed at cutting Iran off from its economic lifelines during a two-week ceasefire. President Donald Trump has suggested talks aimed at ending the war in Iran could resume this week, after negotiations collapsed at the weekend,

"China has a broad range of tools available to respond" to a U.S. seizure of one of its ships, an expert told Newsweek.

The president threatened ships that attempt to come close to the U.S. naval blockade will be “immediately ELIMINATED.”

It comes after the first round of negotiations between the US and Iran in Pakistan last weekend ended without a deal.

Australia on ⁠Wednesday ⁠said it would raise defence ⁠spending to 3% of gross domestic product by 2033 from ​about 2% currently, in response to the most "complex and threatening" circumstances since World War ‌Two.