WASHINGTON/TEHRAN/HELSINKI – The Trump administration is preparing for a fresh round of military strikes against Iran despite ongoing diplomatic efforts, US media reported on Friday, citing sources with direct knowledge of the planning.

President Donald Trump on Friday met with top US national security officials over a path forward on the war with Iran, but the meeting ended without a decision on what will happen next, a source familiar with the meeting told CNN.

Trump is seriously considering launching new strikes against Iran, barring a last-minute breakthrough in negotiations, Axios reported on Friday, citing sources who have spoken directly with the president.

A source close to Trump said he has raised the possibility of a final "decisive" major military operation, after which he could declare victory and end the war, but there is no indication he has made a final decision, said the Axios report.

A US official briefed on the diplomatic efforts described the negotiations as "agonizing" as drafts are "going back and forth every day" without much progress, it said.

Later on Friday, Trump canceled plans to spend the weekend at his New Jersey golf resort and said he would skip his son's wedding in the Bahamas, choosing instead to stay in Washington due to what he described as "circumstances pertaining to Government, and my love for the United States of America."

"I feel it is important for me to remain in Washington, D.C., at the White House during this important period of time," Trump wrote in a post on his social media platform Truth Social.

Also on Friday, Al Arabiya said on social media that the final draft of a possible agreement between the US and Iran, mediated by Pakistan, is expected to be announced within hours.

Key terms of the draft include an immediate, comprehensive, unconditional ceasefire on all fronts, mutual commitment not to target military, civilian or economic infrastructure, and an end to military operations and media war, it said, citing sources.

Qatari and Pakistani delegations reportedly visited Tehran on Friday in an attempt to help end the US war with Iran.  

Iran: Peace talks not close to deal

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Friday that peace negotiations between Iran and the US are not close to an agreement.

"The ongoing (diplomatic) process and the senior Pakistani officials' presence in Tehran do not mean that we have reached a turning point or determining situation," Baghaei told state-run IRIB TV, as Pakistan's Army Chief Asim Munir and Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi are in Iran's capital for bilateral message exchanges.

"We cannot say to have reached a point where an agreement is close; not necessarily, that is not the case," he said, noting that differences between Iran and the US are such "deep and numerous," and that diplomacy takes time.

Baghaei emphasized that talks aim to end hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, adding that Iran's nuclear program is not on the agenda at this stage.

The situation of the Strait of Hormuz and US attacks on Iran-linked ships must also be reviewed and discussed, he said.

On Friday, Al Arabiya, citing informed sources, reported that a potential peace agreement between Iran and the US would include nine clauses.

The draft includes an immediate, comprehensive and unconditional ceasefire on all fronts, guarantees against targeting military, civilian or economic infrastructure, cessation of military operations, and an end to the media war, Al Arabiya reported.

The draft also stipulates respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, non-interference in internal affairs, freedom of navigation in the Gulf, the Strait of Hormuz, and the Gulf of Oman, and the establishment of a joint monitoring and conflict resolution mechanism, it said.

Rubio: ‘Slight progress" in Iran talks

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Friday in Helsingborg, Sweden, that talks with Iran had made "slight progress," while stressing that the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) must be "good for everyone" involved.

Speaking to reporters ahead of a meeting of NATO foreign ministers, Rubio was cautious about the prospects for an agreement with Iran, saying only that there had been "slight progress" in related efforts, Swedish news agency TT reported.

Rubio also sharply criticized Iran over the Strait of Hormuz, saying Tehran was seeking to establish a tolling system in the international waterway and trying to bring Oman into the arrangement. "No country in the world should accept that," he was quoted as saying.

On NATO, Rubio said the alliance, like any other alliance, must benefit all parties involved.

"Like any alliance, it has to be good for everyone who's involved. There has to be a clear understanding of what the expectations are," Rubio said.

NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte said Friday that the alliance would continue moving toward a stronger Europe and a stronger NATO that would be less dependent on any single ally.

The informal meeting of NATO foreign ministers is being held in Helsingborg on Thursday and Friday.