Contacts between Iran and the United States to end their eight-month war are continuing, Iran’s foreign ministry said on Monday, after days of talks between Iranian officials and Qatari mediators ended with revised proposals but no breakthrough.
“I can tell you that the dialogue is continuing. However, the issue is complex,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, adding that the two sides were exchanging messages through mediators.
As fears grew that the conflict could reignite after Tuesday’s US midterm elections, China and Russia on Monday spoke out against the prospect of renewed military action in a war that has hit the global economy.
Oil prices fell nearly 4% on Monday on hopes that the latest round of mediation could lead to a diplomatic solution. However, Iranian sources said they believed a new US attack remained more likely than a deal.
Baghaei said Iran’s plan, submitted in September to end the war, remained the focus of discussions. He also confirmed remarks attributed to Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Saturday that the proposal could be shortened.
“The basis of dialogue and talks between Iran and the US via mediators is still Iran’s seven-step proposal, which has now been condensed, making it possible to implement it within two days,” Baghaei said.
US President Donald Trump rejected the seven-step proposal in September.
The plan calls for the US to lift its blockade of Iranian ports, Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, Washington to waive restrictions on Iranian oil sales and cancel new sanctions on Iran, followed by talks on other issues.
Baghaei reiterated that shortening the plan would not change Iran’s underlying position: talks on its nuclear programme could resume only after Tehran had verified that all its conditions had been met.
Asked whether the talks had raised the possibility of transferring Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium to another country, and whether Tehran might agree to such a move, Baghaei said they had not.
An official briefed on the talks said Iran’s negotiators had left on Sunday, but not because of any problems with the discussions. The official added that a draft proposal was being circulated but provided no further details.
The war, launched by the US and Israel on February 28, has led Iran to close the strategic Strait of Hormuz, prompted a US blockade of Iranian ports and triggered repeated Iranian drone and missile attacks on Gulf states, as well as renewed conflict in Yemen.
Trump has repeatedly said there would be no new attack on Iran before Tuesday’s US midterm elections. Iran has warned that it would respond forcefully to any renewed attack, with plans to strike targets both inside and outside the Middle East.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday that all parties to the conflict should focus on political solutions rather than resort to arms again. He was speaking after meeting senior Iranian security official Ali Bagheri Kani in Beijing.
In Moscow, the Russian Foreign Ministry said reports of possible new military action against Iran were a cause for extreme concern and called for greater diplomatic efforts.
Highlighting the risks to global energy supplies, a Qatari liquefied natural gas (LNG) tanker was struck by unidentified objects in the Gulf on Friday, its operator Nakilat said on Sunday.
Attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf and Red Sea have been common during the conflict, but strikes on LNG carriers have been rare. The last reported incident involving a Qatari tanker occurred in early July.