On Monday, officials from both sides spoke separately with mediators in what looks like the latest attempt to stop a war that’s already dragged on for seven months. No face-to-face meeting, nothing dramatic announced, just the familiar shuttle-diplomacy pattern that’s defined most of the contacts since the fighting started. An official briefed on the process told Reuters the conversations are expected to zero in on an amended version of the seven-day proposal Iran put forward last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stayed in New York after the General Assembly wrapped up. That alone told people something was still in play. According to Iran’s state news agency IRNA, he said Tehran was waiting for a clear American response to its latest ceasefire ideas and the conditions it has set for restoring traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. “If the Americans claim they are seeking an agreement or a peaceful solution, we have presented that solution,” Araqchi said. Straightforward enough.
The Iranian plan is not complicated on paper. End all hostilities in Iran and Lebanon. Unfreeze billions of dollars in Iranian assets. Lift sanctions on Iranian oil. Remove the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports. Once those steps are taken, Tehran says it will reopen the Strait of Hormuz — the narrow waterway that carries a huge share of the world’s oil — and the two sides can get back to talking about the nuclear file and whatever else remains. President Donald Trump publicly rejected that proposal over the weekend. He told people Iran wanted a quick deal because of the economic pressure it is under. Yet on Monday he confirmed that U.S. officials had spoken with the mediators, without offering many details. He had also indicated to Axios that more talks were expected this week.
So the public line and the private track are running on slightly different rails, which is not unusual in this relationship. Qatar has been the main go-between. Pakistani mediators have played roles earlier in the conflict as well. The pattern has been consistent: when direct channels seize up, the intermediaries keep the conversation alive.
The war itself began in late February. An earlier interim understanding in June briefly raised hopes — a memorandum that called for ending military operations on all fronts, including Lebanon, and reopening the strait while broader talks continued. That arrangement frayed within weeks. Strikes and counter-strikes returned. The strait stayed restricted. Oil markets felt the impact. Lebanon remained a flashpoint. By the time leaders gathered in New York for the UN session, both sides were still far apart on the core issues even as they tested whether a narrower, time-bound arrangement might unlock something larger.
Araqchi’s decision to remain in New York after most of the other foreign ministers left was noted by several outlets. Mediators were expected to meet him there and, separately, speak with the American side on Monday or Tuesday. One official described the focus as an amended version of the seven-day plan. Whether the amendments involve sequencing, verification, or additional nuclear-related steps is not yet public. Washington has long wanted tighter constraints on Iran’s nuclear program and has floated ideas about highly enriched uranium. Tehran has insisted that economic relief and an end to military pressure come first.
People close to the process have described the atmosphere as cautious rather than optimistic. One regional official speaking to the Associated Press said mediators were still trying to soften positions on both sides. Another reported slight progress over the weekend. A third noted positive signals without claiming a breakthrough. The White House did not immediately comment beyond Trump’s brief remarks.
The economic stakes are obvious. The Strait of Hormuz remains one of the world’s most important energy chokepoints. Prolonged disruption has already pushed oil prices higher and complicated shipping. Iran’s economy has felt the weight of sanctions and the blockade. The United States has its own calculations about regional stability, the costs of sustained military operations, and the domestic political calendar. Neither side has shown much appetite for open-ended fighting, yet neither has been ready to concede the points the other considers non-negotiable.
This is not the first time mediators have kept talks alive after public rejections. Earlier rounds in Switzerland and elsewhere produced road maps and technical working groups that later stalled when violence resumed. The current effort feels more limited — focused on a short timeline for reopening the waterway and pausing hostilities — with the harder nuclear and sanctions questions pushed further down the road. Whether that sequencing can hold is the real test.
For now the conversation continues through the usual channels. Araqchi waits for a definitive word. American officials exchange messages with the same intermediaries. The public statements remain firm. The private ones, by design, stay quieter. After seven months of war, that quiet channel is still the only one producing any movement at all.
Sources: Reuters reporting of September 28, 2026; Associated Press dispatches; statements carried by Iran’s IRNA; comments by President Trump and Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi as reported by multiple outlets covering the UN General Assembly period and the subsequent mediated contacts.
@Rohit Manral
