Iran urges US to meet Hormuz demands as Trump sees 'momentum' to end war

Qatar and Pakistan are leading diplomatic efforts to resolve the Middle East war, which broke out with US-Israeli strikes that killed Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in late February.

Tehran has said it could reopen Hormuz, the vital global energy conduit that it has blockaded since the start of the conflict, within two days if Washington meets a raft of conditions.

"The conflict with Iran will not be resolved through military means, nor by intensifying sanctions," Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iran's IRNA news agency.

"The only solution is to adopt a language of respect, engage in diplomacy, and address Iran's demands and conditions -- which were outlined in the two-day proposal and remain on the table."

Iran's conditions have included ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian assets, lifting oil sanctions and ending the US counter-blockade of Iranian ports.

On Monday Trump said there was momentum towards ending the conflict after meeting Qatar's prime minister at the White House.

Washington has in recent days appeared to taper down threats of renewed strikes on the Islamic republic after Trump's Republican Party last week lost midterm elections, in part due to the war.

In a post on social media, Trump reiterated that the US was "locked and loaded" but said further strikes were "quite unlikely" given that key US allies in the Gulf "would prefer the status quo".

"We are seeing positive momentum toward an end to this Conflict, and will ensure that America's interests are at all times protected," Trump wrote.

- US 'more flexible' after midterms -

Qatari foreign ministry official Ibrahim Al-Hashmi confirmed "progress" in the negotiations.

"The mediator is making a persistent and earnest effort to bridge the gaps between the parties' positions," he told a regular briefing, adding: "We remain hopeful."

Iranian political analyst Ali Bigdeli said the outcome of the US elections appeared to have "somewhat reduced Iran's flexibility, whereas the Americans have become more flexible".

He noted that the Iranian demands were "demanding and heavy for the United States to accept" but added that "engaging in direct talks" could bear results.

"The two nations have reached such a deep state of mutual distrust and uncertainty that the situation has become extremely difficult," said Bigdeli, a professor of political sciences from Shahid Beheshti University.

Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei urged Washington to "surrender" to the Iranian demands.

"The war on Iran has already wrecked the US government. But Washington flails like a desperate gambler. FOLD YOUR HAND. STOP manufacturing FAKE NEWS about imaginary talks," said Rezaei, the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, in a post on X.

The possibility of renewed fighting has caused concern among Iran's Gulf neighbours, which bore the brunt of Tehran's retaliatory missile and drone attacks.

On Monday Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the United Arab Emirates' president, said the UAE hoped diplomatic solutions "can ensure lasting peace and stability in the Gulf".

But Gargash also warned of "a long period of uncertainty in which neither a decisive resolution nor a stable regional order can be taken for granted".

In Saudi Arabia, multiple explosions were heard in the capital, Riyadh, as the coalition fighting Yemen's Iran-backed Houthis said it had intercepted a ballistic missile launched by the group.

The kingdom has faced near-daily strikes from the Houthis for weeks after a truce in their long-running conflict unravelled in July, opening a new front in the broader Middle East war.

On Sunday, Israel's hawkish Defence Minister Israel Katz said the mission in Iran was still "not complete" and warned Tehran's Lebanese ally Hezbollah to hold fire in any resumption of war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is fighting to stay in office after a tight election race, has threatened new strikes against Iran but it remains unclear whether Trump would support him after his midterms defeat, reports BSS.