Tehran Reads US Messages as an Acknowledgment of Victory

The iran us negotiations channel ran through intermediaries on Monday, and Tehran's leadership cast the American messages as recognition that Iran had prevailed. First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, quoted by the state news agency IRNA, said the enemy had failed to achieve any of its objectives in the last two wars, and presented the messages in those terms.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed that indirect talks with Washington were taking place via mediators. In a video interview with IRNA, he described the pace of the diplomacy: "Given the sensitivity and gravity of the current situation, consultations and deliberations are very intensive."

The diplomatic push comes ahead of Tuesday's US midterm elections, with Iran saying the talks aim to avoid a fresh round of US attacks.

A Two-Day Path to Reopening Hormuz

Foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei laid out Iran's offer on the strait of hormuz blockade: the waterway could be reopened if the United States meets Tehran's demands. A senior Iranian official said Tehran was ready to open Hormuz, the export highway for the energy-rich Gulf, within two days if Washington agreed to its list of demands.

• •In September, Iran proposed a seven-day plan to reopen the strait if the US ended the war on all fronts.
• •The same plan demanded the unfreezing of Iranian assets, the lifting of oil sanctions and an end to the US counter-blockade of Iranian ports.
• •Baghaei said the possibility of implementing the plan in two days was another indication of Iran's good-faith approach.
• •He added that if Iran's demands were met, security could be restored to the Strait of Hormuz and negotiations resumed within a short period.

Baghaei stressed, however, that "everything depends" on the US side accepting the Iranian demands, and that only then could subsequent stages be discussed.

Qatar, Pakistan and the Mediators

Araghchi said Qatar and Pakistan are playing a very active mediating role in these negotiations, giving names to the intermediary channel through which the American messages have passed. Separately, Axios reported that US Vice President JD Vance had sent a letter to Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei about possible new talks - the highest-level move in months.

Regional Powers Weigh In as Markets React

Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the war with Oman's Sultan Haitham bin Tariq in Beijing, the Gulf state's first head-of-state visit since diplomatic ties were established. An Omani statement said the two sides urged the United States and Iran to pursue a peaceful path, achieve a ceasefire and prevent war entirely.

China also held meetings with Iranian and Saudi officials in Beijing on Monday and urged a return to negotiations. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Ali Bagheri that Beijing supports Tehran in safeguarding its own sovereignty and security, according to a Chinese statement.

Moscow stayed in contact too: Iranian state media said Russian President Putin also spoke with Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei about the war by telephone.

Markets responded to the diplomatic signals. Oil prices, sent rocketing by Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz energy corridor, dropped more than six percent on Monday on optimism about halting the eight-month-old conflict.

For now, the next step rests in Washington's hands. As Baghaei put it, only if the US accepts Iran's demands can anything further be discussed.