US and Iran pursue indirect ceasefire talks as Tehran awaits response

U.S. and Iranian officials held separate talks with mediators on Monday as efforts continued to end seven months of war, according to CNBC and Al Jazeera.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Qatari mediators in New York and said he expected a U.S. response by Tuesday to Tehran’s revised ceasefire proposal. The framework calls for the United States to release frozen Iranian funds, lift sanctions on Iranian oil and end its naval blockade of Iranian ports within four to five days, followed by nuclear talks within seven days. Iran has linked reopening the Strait of Hormuz to those measures.

President Donald Trump called the proposal “unacceptable” on Sunday. On Monday, he confirmed that U.S. officials had spoken separately with mediators but provided no details. Al Jazeera reported that major differences remain over the terms of an agreement and that a deal is unlikely before the U.S. midterm elections.

The talks coincided with a rebound in regional oil shipments. Kpler data cited by CNBC showed Middle Eastern crude exports at just under 80% of pre-conflict levels, their highest since the war began in February. Traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remained below normal, at 10.6 million barrels a day on Saturday compared with a prewar baseline of 17.1 million.