During the U.S.-Israeli strikes at the beginning of the war, Iran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, was injured by a blast wave and suffered injuries to his kneecap, back and the area behind his ear, an Iranian official revealed during a state gathering on Friday, according to the semi-official Tasnim News Agency.

This marks the first time an Iranian official has detailed the injuries sustained by the new leader of the Islamic Republic during the opening strikes.

The official -- Mazaher Hosseini, head of visits at the office of the late Islamic Republic Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei -- said that Mojtaba Khamenei was going up the stairs at the time and was thrown to the ground by the blast wave.

He has recovered from his back injury and his kneecap is expected to heal soon, Hosseini said, adding that the leader is in "perfect health."

-ABC News' Somayeh Malekian

The U.S. has still not received a definitive response from Iran on the draft memo to end the war -- but there have been some negotiations playing out through different mediators, according to two officials familiar with the matter.

Qatar's Foreign Ministry confirmed that its prime minister and minister of foreign affairs met with Vice President JD Vance in Washington on Friday to discuss developments in the Middle East and "the Pakistani mediation efforts aimed at de-escalating tensions in a way that contributes to enhancing security and stability in the region."

While Pakistan is viewed as the lead mediator, Qatar has provided another backchannel for communication between Iran and the U.S. for much of the conflict, officials say.

And though President Donald Trump said there was no deadline for Iran's response, sources say the administration is increasingly eager to push Iran toward an agreement. One official said the forceful U.S. counterattacks against Iran (which Trump described as " love taps") in the Strait of Hormuz were motivated in part by a desire to speed up the negotiation timeline with Iran.

-ABC News' Shannon K. Kingston

The U.S. Central Command said it has redirected 57 commercial vessels and disabled 4 others to prevent the ships from entering or leaving Iranian ports.

-ABC News' Steven Beynon

Referring to negotiations with the U.S., Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei said the country doesn't follow anyone's deadlines.

"The matter is still under discussion," Baqaei said. "We do our own job. We are not bound by their deadlines or timelines very much."

Ahead of President Donald Trump's anticipated trip to Beijing next week, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to the country and met with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi.

According to the Chinese readout published by the Xinhua News Agency, Araghchi told Wang, "Iran trusts China and expects China to continue playing a positive role in promoting peace and ending conflict and supports the establishment of a new post-war regional architecture that can coordinate development and security."

Araghchi also told Wang that "facts have proven that the political crisis cannot be resolved through military means," according to the readout.

Wang said that China is willing to play "a greater role in restoring peace and tranquility to the Middle East," Xinhua reported.

"China believes that a complete cessation of hostilities is imperative, restarting the conflict is even more undesirable and persisting in negotiations is particularly important," Wang said.

-ABC News' Karson Yiu