US and Iran Hold Mediator Talks as Hormuz Dispute Persists

U.S. and Iranian officials separately spoke with mediators on Monday, September 28, in a renewed diplomatic effort to address the war and the impasse over reopening the Strait of Hormuz. The contacts produced no publicly reported agreement, and Iran said it was still waiting for a definitive U.S. response to its proposal. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had received President Donald Trump’s public reaction to the proposal but had not been formally told Washington’s position through mediators. Trump said U.S. officials had spoken with mediators but did not provide details. Further discussions were expected this week, though no specific date or outcome was confirmed. Iran’s proposal links steps toward restoring passage through the Strait of Hormuz to an end to hostilities and U.S. actions involving a naval blockade of Iranian ports, sanctions on Iranian oil and frozen Iranian assets. It also calls for Iran to reopen the waterway and for the two sides to resume negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program. The proposal was presented last week during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, according to accounts of the negotiations.