Hopes of return to diplomacy as US-Iran hold fire for third day

Mediators from Qatar and Pakistan work to restart ceasefire talks amid fragile pause in hostilities.Mediators have expressed hope of progress in pulling the United States and Iran back to the negotiation table as the two sides maintained a pause in hostilities for a third day.Middle East officials speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss closed-door talks told The Associated Press on Monday that mediators led by Qatar and Pakistan are continuing to work to bridge the gap between Washington and Tehran.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3FIFA boss Gianni Infantino accuses World Cup critics of spreading hatelist 2 of 3Why has the US halted its bombing of Iran?list 3 of 3Five decades of Israeli covert strategy to push US, Iran into confrontationend of listThe claims appeared to be supported by comments from Washington, and by the continued pause in US strikes following the sudden escalation of hostilities a fortnight or so ago.However, Iran has downplayed talk of negotiations, and its drone attacks on Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq underscored the fragility of the situation, suggesting that Tehran, or at least the Iran-backed armed groups around the region, is seeking to ...