Iran-US Talks: Tehran Says Negotiations Are "Intensive" as It Seeks to Avoid a New War

Update, November 3, 2026: we removed the questions that repeated the text.

Iran said on Monday that it is conducting “intensive” indirect negotiations with the United States to avoid a new wave of American attacks. Tehran said it is ready to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the energy corridor it has blocked for months, but only if Washington accepts its demands.¹ The negotiations come on the eve of the US midterm elections, the November 3 vote that renews Congress. The price of oil has risen because of the blockade of Hormuz, and the conflict, which has lasted eight months, is weighing on President Donald Trump’s popularity.¹²

Who is negotiating with whom?

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi explained that the talks are going through mediators and that Qatar and Pakistan are playing “a very active role.” According to the Reuters agency, Iranian negotiators were in Doha for the third consecutive day of talks with Qatari mediators.¹²³ Other countries are also getting involved. Officials from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan were in Tehran last week, while another Qatari delegation brought to Tehran a version of the draft agreement that has been under discussion for eight days.⁴³ The website Axios reported that US Vice President JD Vance wrote a letter to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, about possible new talks. It would be the highest-level move in recent months. Trump, however, said the contact concerned medical supplies, and the Tasnim agency wrote that Tehran had not yet replied.¹⁵ Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has given the government “certain powers” to seek dialogue, without clarifying their scope. Analysts cited by The Straits Times note that the mandate remains within “clear red lines.”⁴ On the international stage, China called for a return to negotiations, and the Sultan of Oman, in Beijing, urged the United States and Iran to seek a peaceful solution. Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke by phone with Rezaei, according to Iranian state media.¹

What does Iran want in order to reopen the Strait of Hormuz?

A senior Iranian official stated that Tehran can reopen Hormuz within two days, provided Washington accepts its list of demands. In September, Iran had proposed a seven-day plan in exchange for an end to the war on all fronts, the release of frozen assets, the lifting of oil sanctions and the end of the American counter-blockade of Iranian ports.¹⁶ Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said that “everything depends” on the American response and that only afterward can the next phases be discussed. Araghchi added that Washington should also accept a new transit route through the strait agreed between Iran and Oman.¹ An Iranian official told Reuters that nuclear talks could begin only after Hormuz is reopened and that Tehran will not accept Washington’s “excessive demands.”³

What does the United States want?

Trump’s basic condition is that Iran must never possess a nuclear weapon. On Truth Social he wrote that a deal “could happen” and that Tehran “wants a deal as soon as possible”; Vance spoke of “some progress.”¹² The gap with Tehran remains wide, because Iran wants sanctions eased and assets released before reopening the strait, while the United States is demanding concessions on the nuclear program. Anwar Gargash, a senior Emirati official, described the positions as still “far apart.”⁴⁷ Trump is sending mixed signals. He answered “no” when asked whether he was thinking of attacking after the vote, but at a rally he said that “at some point we will have to give them the hammer.”²⁶

What happened on Qeshm?

On Monday evening the United States struck the Iranian island of Qeshm, the largest in the Strait of Hormuz, according to the Wall Street Journal, citing anonymous American officials. The Iranian agency IRNA reported five explosions in quick succession.⁸ Reuters and the Associated Press report that the target was surface-to-air missiles used against American assets. The newspaper describes a series of limited, unannounced raids in recent weeks, described as defensive, kept confidential so as not to suggest a resumption of large-scale fighting.⁸⁹ US Central Command (CENTCOM) neither confirmed nor denied, and no Iranian official has officially confirmed the attack. The Pasdaran, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), said they shot down an American MQ-9 drone east of the strait.³¹⁰

Why do oil and the elections matter in these talks?

The blockade of Hormuz pushed oil prices upward. On Monday the price fell by more than 6 percent according to some sources and by more than 7 percent according to others, and Brent, the global benchmark, touched a drop of nearly 10 percent, just under 106 dollars a barrel.¹¹¹⁴ A Reuters/Ipsos poll indicates that Trump’s approval is close to the lowest of his career and that voters prefer Democrats to Republicans by 46 to 38. The rise in fuel prices since the start of the war, which began in February, is weighing on the vote.¹²

Toward peace or toward escalation?

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that a deal is still far off, even though the mediators are trying to narrow the gaps. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said that “the ball is in the American court.”³ If the talks fail, the risk is a wider conflict. According to the New York Times, American and Israeli military officials have prepared an extensive list of targets that includes energy infrastructure, and Tehran is threatening to hit critical infrastructure and undersea communication cables.⁷ Iran has announced maximum defensive readiness and a “response without geographic limits.” Iranian media have written that possible targets would include American bases in Europe. The Gulf countries, which host US bases and energy facilities, fear they would be the hardest hit.⁷¹⁰

This article was written by artificial intelligence from the sources cited, without human review. Automatic newsroom by Redazia.

Sources

Footnotes

1. Iran engages US in ‘intensive’ negotiations to avert fresh war outbreak, France 24, 2026-11-02 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹

2. Trump raises doubts about renewed attacks on Iran, The Straits Times · World, 2026-11-02 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

3. Iran’s foreign minister says talks with Saudi Arabia are ongoing; Yemen fighting intensifies, The Straits Times · World, 2026-11-03 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵

4. Iran’s Khamenei gives government powers to hold talks on war, The Straits Times · World, 2026-11-03 ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴

5. Trump says Vance’s outreach to Iran focused on medical supplies, CGTN, 2026-10-30 ↩

6. Iran says in ‘intensive’ negotiations with US to avert war, The Straits Times · World, 2026-11-02 ↩ ↩²

7. As Trump’s Midterm Deadline Looms, Gulf Countries Brace for Possible Renewal of Iran War, The New York Times · World, 2026-11-03 ↩ ↩² ↩³

8. US strikes Iran’s Qeshm Island as Trump signals progress in talks, France 24, 2026-11-03 ↩ ↩²

9. US reportedly strikes Iran’s Qeshm Island as Vance voices optimism about a deal, The Guardian · World, 2026-11-03 ↩

10. Iran warns of ‘new battlefield’ after reported US strike on Qeshm, Euronews, 2026-11-03 ↩ ↩²

11. US signals progress in talks with Iran to avert renewed war, The Straits Times · World, 2026-11-02 ↩

12. Trump’s approval rating is near a career low ahead of elections, poll finds, South China Morning Post · World, 2026-11-02 ↩