Iranian Interior Minister Eskandar Momeni met his Pakistani counterpart Mohsin Naqvi in Tehran on Saturday during a visit that comes amid efforts to revive stalled diplomacy between Washington and Tehran; meanwhile, the US military announced it had shot down two Iranian drones in the Strait of Hormuz.

According to Iran’s official news agency IRNA, Pakistan’s interior minister said he was visiting Tehran to deliver a message from Pakistani Army Chief Asim Munir and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

Naqvi said the message conveyed by Pakistan, which has assumed a mediating role in the diplomatic path between Iran and the United States, to the Iranian supreme leader is of great importance, expressing hope that things will proceed well and reach a successful conclusion, according to IRNA.

IRNA added that Naqvi is scheduled to meet Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Tehran on Sunday.

Weeks of indirect talks, marked by tit-for-tat threats and sporadic exchanges of fire between the US and Iran, have failed to secure an agreement to end the conflict or reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic chokepoint for Gulf oil and gas shipments.

Against this backdrop, Mohsen Rezaei, military adviser to Iran’s supreme leader, said in an interview with CNN that indirect negotiations between Washington and Tehran had reached a dead end. He stressed that any potential agreement would depend on the release of $24 billion in Iranian assets frozen abroad.

Rezaei, a former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, described the move as “a test of trust” that US President Donald Trump must pass, adding that the funds belong to Iran and are “not the property of the United States.”

Washington instead may seek to use the funds to pay for damage wrought by Iranian strikes on Gulf allies.

The US Treasury "will utilize all tools available to allow Iranian assets to be made available to our Gulf allies to support rebuilding and repairs for any future damage caused by Iran," a source familiar with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent's thinking said.

For decades, Iran has been subject to asset freezes and sweeping sanctions by the United States and other Western countries. The policy dates back to the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and remains a central source of tension between Tehran and Washington.

On the military front, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it destroyed two Iranian drones “that threatened international maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz,” hours after announcing strikes on four other drones and coastal surveillance radar sites.

Tehran responded with a salvo of missiles at US allies Bahrain and Kuwait on Saturday, drawing a furious response from the Gulf monarchies and piling pressure on a shaky ceasefire agreed on 8 April.

CENTCOM said Iran launched seven ballistic missiles towards Bahrain and Kuwait, with six intercepted and one falling short. Iran's Revolutionary Guards said they had targeted "enemy bases in the area" with missiles.

Bahrain, which hosts the headquarters of the US Fifth Fleet, denounced the latest attacks as "blatant aggression," while Kuwait said they "represent a dangerous escalation."

In Bahrain's capital, Manama, an AFP journalist heard three explosions as air raid sirens sounded.

In Kuwait, another AFP journalist heard repeated blasts near the international airport, where a Wednesday strike blamed on Iran killed one person.

Iran's foreign ministry denounced the latest US strikes as "flagrant violations" while condemning Washington's "hostile and provocative behaviour."