Iran's Supreme National Security Council secretary Mohsen Rezaei announced seven conditions for any negotiations with the United States to begin, conveyed through Qatari and Pakistani mediators, as the near-seven-month war continued and the Strait of Hormuz remained closed [3][8][9][10][19]. Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf told lawmakers that Iran's messages and conditions had been "clearly conveyed to the other party through mediators" and that the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen until those conditions were met and American commitments implemented [3][7][11][17][20]. Ghalibaf rejected the framing of war and negotiation as mutually exclusive, stating Iran must both fight and negotiate [10][13][16].
Rezaei listed the conditions as including an end to fighting on all fronts, among them Lebanon, the release of frozen Iranian assets, an end to the US naval blockade, an end to US interference in Iran's internal affairs, an end to US cooperation with what he termed "opponents of our revolution," and an end to US attacks on Iranian territory [19][20]. Persian-language reporting framed the conditions not as new demands but as a call for Washington to return to the previously agreed Islamabad memorandum [24][25]. Iranian officials stated Tehran is awaiting President Donald Trump's response [10][23][26][29].
Trump described himself as being in a "decision phase" on Iran, telling Fox News that his options were "wiping Iran out, letting them rot economically or making a deal" [1][6][8][14][18]. He said he would "probably be open" to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian at the UN General Assembly [8][16]. US House Speaker Mike Johnson stated the administration does not consider the conflict a prolonged war and that it is entering its final stages, with diplomatic negotiations under way on keeping the Strait of Hormuz open [2]. The White House said the US has the strait under control and is escorting oil through it, citing an average of 10 million barrels a day [34]. The Houthi administration in Yemen, for its part, said 318 ships passed through the strait between 10 and 18 September [6].
Iranian military commands warned that any renewed US attack would trigger retaliation without limitations. The Khatam al-Anbiya Central Military Command stated it had received information that the US, with the agreement of some regional countries at a joint meeting in a European country, had decided to resume attacks on Iran [16][22]. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned in parallel that "all US bases and interests in the region will become targets of continuous, effective and painful attacks without any limitations or considerations" [6][8][12][14]. Rezaei said Iran had upgraded its hypersonic missiles from Mach-6 to Mach-10 and improved its air defenses, stating "Trump's threats will not achieve any results" and that Iran is "prepared for a decisive war" [3][19]. Tehran has also accused some Gulf states of double-dealing, with Rezaei saying that after being invited to an Iran-Oman shipping meeting they "reciprocated with a secret meeting in Germany with US Central Command and Israel" [6]. He also floated the possibility of Iran withdrawing from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while saying Iran remains bound by former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's fatwa against nuclear weapons [29][32].
Analysts read Tehran's move as an attempt to shift responsibility publicly to Washington. Adel Abdel Ghafar of the Australian Strategic Policy Institute said Iran is "putting the onus back on Washington and doing it publicly, for maximum effect" and betting on US war-weariness and the midterm calendar [19]. Rob Geist Pinfold of King's College London said Trump "very much wants a deal to wind up the war before the midterms" but that significant substantive gaps make a comprehensive deal unlikely soon [19]. David Des Roches, a former Pentagon director of Arabian Peninsula affairs, said Washington would likely view the terms as surrender, though he noted Iran's apparent abandonment of war reparations demands as a sign of movement [19].
Pakistan, Qatar, Turkey, China, and Gulf monarchies were all working diplomatic channels. Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi was due in Tehran for talks as Islamabad continued its mediation [20][21][23]. Pakistan's UN ambassador Asim Iftikhar Ahmad said Islamabad would stress its mediatory role during the General Assembly high-level week [14]. Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said Turkey and other countries had proposed new conditions to both the US and Iran [21][25]. Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, meeting Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in Beijing, urged both sides to return to the Islamabad memorandum and reopen Hormuz [30][31]. Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan called on Iran to seize the negotiating opportunity, and Trump suspended a planned military attack on Iran after requests from the Qatari Emir, the Saudi Crown Prince, and the UAE President [27].
The US State Department issued a security alert urging Americans across nine countries to exercise "heightened vigilance," stating the Middle East security environment "remains complex with the potential for unforeseen escalation" [14][15][19][21]. The alert warned of possible flight cancellations, airspace closures, and attacks on US diplomatic facilities [15].
The war's economic costs were documented on both sides. Iran's Statistics Office reported GDP contracted 10.1 percent in the quarter from end-March to end-June compared with a year earlier, as the Hormuz closure and US naval blockade crippled oil exports [4]. President Pezeshkian acknowledged Iran faces critical conditions and financial pressure from the war, inherited debt, and oil-export restrictions [13]. Oil traded above $100 a barrel, with Brent rising to $104.68 after Houthi attacks on Riyadh [4][19]. War-risk insurance premiums for Hormuz transit reached 7.5 to 10 percent of hull value, with transit costs of $10-20 million deterring some operators [33][34]. Lloyd's Market Association said the reason ships were not moving was "not through a lack of insurance" but that masters and owners judged the risk to crew and vessel safety too high [34]. Oxford Economics chief economist for emerging markets Felipe Camargo said a Hormuz closure would raise oil prices and could destabilize the world economy [35]. The US Department of Defense warned allies to expect delays of up to five years in weapons deliveries as it rebuilt depleted munitions stocks, having used more than half its advanced Patriot variants and a third of its Tomahawks [5]. The Congressional Budget Office stated the US had probably used up to two-thirds of its missile-defense interceptor inventory since June 2025 [5].
The conflict included fighting in Yemen, where Houthi forces launched missile, drone, and cruise attacks on Riyadh and Saudi oil facilities in Yanbu [4][6][25]. Houthi political bureau member Hizam al-Assad said the attacks were a response to "hundreds of airstrikes that Riyadh had carried out against the people of Yemen" [6]. The Saudi-led coalition reported 13 civilians wounded in strikes on three Saudi cities and said it responded with strikes on Houthi positions [15]. BBC Arabic reported displacement around Taiz and fears of a siege cutting the last road to Aden [28].
A UN-mandated fact-finding mission concluded there were reasonable grounds to believe US strikes on a Minab school and a Lamerd sports complex constituted war crimes, finding that in the Minab school strike the US "failed in its obligation to do everything feasible to verify" that it was a military objective [36]. The mission also found Iranian authorities committed crimes against humanity [36]. White House Deputy Press Secretary Anna Kelly dismissed the findings, calling the Human Rights Council unserious and stating "the only party in this conflict that has committed war crimes is the Iranian regime" [36]. Human rights lawyer Reed Brody of the International Commission of Jurists noted the report "doesn't by itself generate any consequences" but could form the basis for other proceedings [36].
In a separate bilateral dispute, Iran closed a French-affiliated language center, prompting the French Foreign Ministry to condemn the move as "unjustifiable and unacceptable" and summon Iran's ambassador [4][6].
As the UN General Assembly convenes, both Trump and Pezeshkian are expected in New York, with Gulf leaders pressing for a negotiated resolution and Iran awaiting a formal US response to its conditions [16][27][29]. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short his US visit and returned to Israel [14].