Iran confirms 'intensive' talks with US to avert return to war
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed intensive indirect contacts with the US via mediators, and Tehran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz under strict conditions. Oil prices fell by more than six percent on Monday.
Iran confirmed on Monday, 2 November, that it is holding "intensive" exchanges with Washington and has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if its strict conditions are met. Diplomatic efforts are escalating to prevent a return to open war. The conflict between Iran and the US, which has also involved Israeli pressure, has lasted eight months. The strait is a key export corridor for energy from the Gulf, and Iran's blockade of it had sent oil prices soaring.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the state news agency IRNA that indirect talks are taking place through mediators, with Qatar and Pakistan playing a very active role. The Axios news outlet reported that US Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, about possible new talks. It was described as the highest-level move in months.
Iran's conditions
A senior Iranian official said Tehran is ready to open the strait within two days, provided Washington agrees to its demands. In September, Iran proposed a seven-day plan that required ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian assets, lifting oil sanctions and ending the US counter-blockade of Iranian ports. Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said "everything depends" on the US accepting the demands. Araghchi also said Washington must accept a new transit route agreed by Iran and Oman and reduce its troop numbers in the region.
International reaction
Chinese President Xi Jinping met Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq in Beijing, and the two sides urged the US and Iran to follow a peaceful path and achieve a ceasefire. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi voiced support for Tehran in safeguarding its sovereignty and security. Russian President Vladimir Putin discussed the war by phone with Rezaei.
US President Donald Trump kept up his threats, telling a rally that at some point the US would have to "give them the hammer". The diplomatic push comes ahead of Tuesday's US midterm elections, where dissatisfaction over the war and higher fuel prices are weighing on Trump's Republicans.
