October 14, 2026
Tehran continues to study the American response related to its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, in light of the faltering diplomatic efforts aimed at ending the conflict and the continuing fundamental disagreements over negotiation priorities and conditions.
In this context, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei stated that his country will deliver its response to Washington through the mediating parties as soon as the review of the American position is completed, indicating the continuation of indirect communication between the two sides, and explaining that Qatar and Pakistan, along with other countries, are playing mediation roles to stop the war that broke out as a result of American and Israeli strikes that targeted Iran on February 28.
This diplomatic movement comes in the wake of the collapse of the temporary ceasefire last June and the renewal of intermittent strikes. Tehran submitted its proposal in mid-September and received an American response. However, the negotiation process collided with new obstacles, following the Iranian security official’s announcement on Sunday that the American response failed to meet the seven conditions set by Tehran for opening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming negotiations.
The essence of the current crisis is based on the divergence of views regarding the agenda of the talks. Washington is committed to including the Iranian nuclear file on the table as negotiations begin, while Tehran insists on making the priority of the first phase limited to reopening the waterway and securing navigation in it, noting that before the outbreak of the war, the strait witnessed the transit of about a fifth of global trade in oil and liquefied natural gas.
On another level, Baqaei touched on the ongoing escalation between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis in Yemen, reiterating his country’s readiness to support any Yemeni-Saudi agreement, and stressing the importance of settling the crisis through dialogue and based on the UN road map, a step that he saw as being delayed for too long.
