US Secretary of State Marco Rubio held talks with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Sunday, as the two sides discussed the Middle East, trade, visas, maritime security and energy supplies.
Rubio said progress had been made in the past 48 hours on efforts towards resolving the Iran conflict.
Rubio said an announcement was possible later Sunday on a deal with Iran. "I do think perhaps there is the possibility that in the next few hours the world will get some good news," Rubio told reporters in New Delhi.
He reiterated that Iran could never be allowed to have a nuclear weapon and said attacks on commercial vessels were "totally illegal".
The discussions come amid heightened tensions in the Middle East and concerns over shipping lanes and energy supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, through which a significant share of global oil shipments passes.
Jaishankar said India and the United States had common interests and shared challenges, and that India supported safe maritime passage.
US President Donald Trump, earlier in the day, said that the emerging agreement would reopen the strait, the vital shipping passage whose closure has upended global energy markets since the US and Israel launched the war on Iran in February. He did not say what else would be included in an agreement.
"Final aspects and details of the Deal are currently being discussed, and will be announced shortly," Trump wrote on Truth Social.
US news website Axios reported late on Saturday that the US and Iran were close to a deal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz with no tolls during a 60-day ceasefire extension, while Iran would be able to freely sell oil and negotiations would be held on curbing Iran's nuclear program.
In exchange, the US would lift its blockade on Iranian ports and issue some sanctions waivers on Iranian oil, Axios said, citing a US official.
The draft agreement also includes commitments from Iran never to pursue nuclear weapons and to negotiate over a suspension of its uranium enrichment program and the removal of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the Axios report said.
The New York Times reported that the proposed deal includes an "apparent commitment" by Iran to give up its highly enriched uranium. Details of how Iran would cede that stockpile would be left for a subsequent round of talks, the newspaper said, citing two unidentified US officials.
Trump, while offering various war aims during the three-month-old conflict, has repeatedly said the US struck Iran to prevent it from obtaining nuclear weapons. Iran has denied it is pursuing nuclear weapons and says it has a right to enrich uranium for civilian purposes.
Iran said on Saturday that it was working toward a memorandum of understanding on ending the war after its top officials met with Asim Munir, the army chief of Pakistan, which has sought to be a mediator.
The Pakistani army said the negotiations had resulted in "encouraging" progress. Two Pakistani sources involved in the talks said the deal being negotiated is "fairly comprehensive to terminate the war."
Sources have told Reuters the proposed framework would unfold in three stages: formally ending the war, resolving the crisis in the Strait of Hormuz and launching a 30-day window for negotiations on a broader agreement, which can be extended.
One of the Pakistani sources said that if the US accepts the memorandum, further talks could take place after the Eid holiday ends on Friday.
Trump, whose approval ratings have been hit by the war's impact on US energy prices, said on Friday he would not attend his son's wedding this weekend, citing Iran among the reasons he planned to stay in Washington.