US President Donald Trump on Monday signaled progress in negotiations with Iran to avoid a return to war, as Tehran said “intensive” exchanges were underway while offering to reopen the Strait of Hormuz under strict conditions.
A deal with Tehran “could happen,” Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform, a day before the crucial midterm elections in the United States. He added that “Iran wants a settlement as quickly as possible.”
Vice President JD Vance said separately that he and Trump were optimistic about reaching a deal.
“We’ve certainly made progress. We’ll see if we can make more,” Vance told reporters Monday.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said indirect talks were taking place through mediators. China also called for a return to negotiations, while Iran’s security chief discussed the conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin.
Oil prices – driven soar by Iran’s blockade of the Strait of Hormuz energy corridor – fell more than 6 percent on Monday, optimistic about moves to end the eight-month-old conflict.
“Given the sensitivity and seriousness of the current situation, consultations and deliberations are very intensive,” Araghchi said in a video interview with the official IRNA news agency.
“Qatar and Pakistan are playing a very active mediating role in these negotiations.”
Media outlet Axios reported that US Vice President JD Vance sent a letter to Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei about possible new negotiations, the highest-level decision in months.
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This redoubled diplomatic push comes in the run-up to the US mid-term elections on Tuesday, where discontent over the war and rising fuel prices weigh on US President Donald Trump’s Republicans.
Democrats hope to take at least partial control of Congress and impose political constraints on Trump for the first time in two years.
Iran’s First Vice President, Mohammad Reza Aref, said the messages received from the United States were “a recognition of our victory.”
“Our enemy has failed to achieve any of its objectives in the last two wars. Even today, although the United States, driven by its own objectives and concerns about domestic public opinion, engages in various maneuvers, messages transmitted to Iran through proxies indicate recognition of our victory,” he said, according to IRNA.
But Trump maintained his threats against Iran, telling a campaign rally that “at some point we’re going to have to give them the hammer.”
“Good faith approach”
A senior Iranian official said Tehran was ready to open Hormuz, the export highway to the energy-rich Gulf, within two days – provided Washington agrees to its list of demands.
In September, Iran proposed a seven-day plan to reopen the strait if the United States agreed to demands, including an end to the war on all fronts, the unfreezing of Iranian assets, the lifting of oil sanctions and an end to the counter-blockade of Iranian ports.
“The ability to implement this plan in two days is another indication of Iran’s good faith,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters at a news briefing.
“We stated that if Iran’s demands were met, it would be possible to restore security in the Strait of Hormuz and resume the negotiation process in a short period of time.”
Baghaei said that “everything depends” on the American side’s acceptance of the Iranian demands.
“Only then can we discuss further steps,” he added.
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Cover image: © France 24
Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the war with Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq in Beijing on Monday – the first visit to China by the Gulf country’s head of state since diplomatic ties were established.
“Both sides called for resolving differences through political and diplomatic means, urging the United States and Iran to pursue a peaceful path, achieve a ceasefire (and) completely prevent war,” an Omani statement said.
China also held meetings with Iranian and Saudi officials in Beijing on Monday.
Beijing supports Tehran in “safeguarding its own sovereignty and security,” Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Ali Bagheri, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, according to a Chinese statement.
Bagheri told Wang that Tehran’s “stance on defending its national security, sovereignty and territorial integrity remains unchanged and Iran will not make any compromises in this regard,” according to state television.
Russian President Putin also spoke by phone with Iran’s security chief, Mohsen Rezaei, about the war, Iranian state media reported.
“Powerful response”
In an interview with Al Jazeera published on Sunday, Araghchi said Washington must accept a new route agreed between Iran and Oman to transit the strait.
He said the United States must also lift sanctions imposed in recent months and reduce the number of American troops in the region.
Since August, Washington has launched a new series of sanctions, as part of what it called “the economic asphyxiation” of Iran.
U.S. and Israeli threats against Iran have increased in the run-up to midterm elections and last week’s elections in Israel, where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to secure a majority.
On Saturday, Trump said he still had to “take care” of one or two targets, including Pickaxe Mountain in central Iran, a suspected nuclear site that Tehran denies is such a facility.
“Any act of aggression against Iran, any military attack against Iran, by any means, will result in a powerful, immediate and comprehensive response from us,” Baghaei said.
(FRANCE 24 with AFP)
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