Mediator Pakistan insisted Thursday that negotiations between Iran and the United States were ongoing, even as Washington carried out a "heavy wave of strikes" on its foe in retaliation for fresh attacks targeting Jordan. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementThe return to direct hostilities followed a brief pause in fighting meant to give talks a boost. "Negotiations between parties are ongoing, particularly on (the) Strait of Hormuz and to de-escalate," Pakistani foreign ministry spokesman Tahir Andrabi told reporters. US President Donald Trump had vowed to hit Iran "hard" after Tehran's previous attack on Jordan, its first in the region in days. Kuwait's defence ministry denounced a "heinous" Iranian attack that "targeted a building belonging to a Chinese company in the north", killed one worker and caused severe material damage.