ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said Washington remains committed to a prospective deal with Tehran, adding that US President Donald Trump’s “preference is always diplomacy” but he maintains other options should an accord not be reached.

“We’re dealing with a system that itself is a little fractured - the Iranian system. But that said, there'll be a couple visits. I believe the Pakistanis will be traveling to Tehran today. So hopefully that'll advance this further,” Rubio told reporters.

Earlier in the day, semi-official Iranian media reported that Pakistani army chief Asim Munir is set to arrive in Tehran for talks with Iranian officials regarding mediation efforts between Tehran and Washington.

The visit comes following Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s talks with senior Iranian officials over the past week.

“If we can get a good deal done, that would be great. I'm not here to tell you that it's going to happen for sure, but I'm here to tell you that we're going to do everything we can to see if we can get one,” Rubio said.

“But if we can't get a good deal, the president's been clear. He has other options. I'm not going to elaborate on what those are, but everybody knows what those are. But his preference is always a deal,” he added.

The US-Israel war with Iran began in late February until the two sides reached a ceasefire in April, ending hostilities for the most part.

Following the ceasefire, the two sides have held one round of face-to-face talks mediated by Pakistan that resulted in no deal. Since then they have traded proposals for a comprehensive peace agreement, with Iran calling Washington’s demands excessive and Washington dubbing Tehran’s unacceptable.

“There are some good signs, but we understand this. I don't want to be overly optimistic as well. So let's see what happens over the next few days,” Rubio said.