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WASHINGTON — <\/span>Iran\u2019s top diplomat is expected to travel to Pakistan by this weekend for talks, two Pakistani officials told The Associated Press on Friday, raising hopes for revived negotiations in the Iran-U.S. war.<\/p>\n Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was expected to be accompanied by a small government delegation and could arrive as soon as Friday, the officials said, without providing further details. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media. <\/p>\n Iran did not immediately acknowledge Araghchi\u2019s trip.<\/p>\n Islamabad has sought to reinject momentum into the negotiations, which had been set to resume this week but did not materialize, to end a war that has left thousands dead throughout the Middle East, jolted energy markets and clouded the global economic picture.<\/p>\n Separately Friday, the White House said President Donald Trump issued a 90-day extension to the Jones Act waiver, making it easier for non-American vessels to transport oil and natural gas in the wake of the war.<\/p>\n Trump first announced a 60-day waiver in mid-March, a move seen as helping to stabilize energy prices and making it easier for more ships to travel to the U.S. following the effective closure of the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n The post on social media by a White House press aide said: \u201cNew data compiled since the initial waiver was issued revealed that significantly more supply was able to reach U.S. ports faster.\u201d<\/p>\n The price of Brent crude oil, the international standard, retreated on the news, falling to around $104 a barrel. Earlier it had edged up to more than $107, a level nearly 50% higher than where it was on Feb. 28, when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran to start the war.<\/p>\n As part of the diplomatic push earlier Friday, Araghchi and Pakistani officials discussed details of the ceasefire in the war with the U.S. and Israel, part of an effort by Islamabad to get Iran to send a delegation for a second round of negotiations with Washington.<\/p>\n Pakistan has been trying to get U.S. and Iranian officials back to the table after Trump this week announced an indefinite extension of the ceasefire with Iran<\/a>, honoring Islamabad’s request for more time for diplomatic outreach.<\/p>\n That hasn\u2019t lowered tensions<\/a> in the strait<\/a> the strategic waterway through which a fifth of the world\u2019s oil and natural gas is shipped during peacetime. <\/p>\n