The first shuttle talks between the United States and Iran for months raised hopes on Wednesday (September 23, 2026) that the ‌adversaries could make some progress towards ending the West Asia war, although neither side spelled out any ​change in their positions.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner communicated ⁠through mediators on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, the first such contacts since an interim ceasefire agreement collapsed in July.

“Steve and Jared had a very productive meeting today with mediators of Iran, merely mediators. Let’s see what happens with that,” U.S. President Donald ‌Trump said. “They’ve been mediated for a while, but I think there’s a lot of momentum for them to make a deal. It’s what we’re hearing from everybody.”

Earlier, Mr. Trump had told the UN General Assembly in ‌a speech that he had to decide whether to make a deal with Iran or “annihilate” the country. Iran’s President ‌Masoud ⁠Pezeshkian was due to address the gathering on Wednesday (September 23, 2026).

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Tehran had engaged ⁠with the United States through a Qatari mediator in New York and conveyed conditions, including an end to the war on all fronts and a halt to U.S. “acts of aggression”.

Some Iranian state media had earlier reported that Mr. Araghchi and Mr. Witkoff had met, but Iranian officials clarified to Reuters that this was not ​face-to-face. Mr. Araghchi met the Prime Minister of Qatar, Sheikh ‌Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, who has been one of the main mediators at previous talks.

Oil prices hold at two-week low

The diplomatic opening helped keep oil prices near two-week lows, with Brent crude now holding just below the $100-a-barrel threshold it had shot through this month, after Houthi fighters in Yemen launched a major offensive and fired into Saudi Arabia.

The war, ‌launched by Mr. Trump in February alongside Israel as “Operation Epic Fury”, has lasted nearly seven months, killing thousands of ​people, disrupting global energy supplies and spreading to other countries in the region — first to Lebanon and more recently to Yemen.

Mr. Trump repeated previous assertions that the war could end around the time of November’s ⁠U.S. midterm elections, though he has not explained why.

Since diplomacy broke off in July, the sides have repeatedly exchanged fire, although Mr. Trump has held back from a full-blown resumption of strikes after receiving advice from his military commanders that munitions were running low.

An interim agreement ‌reached in June and signed by Mr. Trump and Mr. Pezeshkian would have given Iran its main demands — lifting financial sanctions and unfreezing assets in return for talks on limiting its nuclear programme.

But that deal unravelled within weeks over shipping rules in the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas before the war. Iran wants to exert greater control of the strait and collect fees from ships that use it, which Washington rejects.

Despite near-daily attacks on tankers, traffic through the strait has gradually increased in recent weeks. Oil producers have paid shipping companies fees worth as much as a quarter of a cargo’s ‌value to switch off transponders, navigate the route and transfer crude to other vessels beyond the strait.

Exports from the United Arab Emirates have already ​recovered to pre-war levels, and Saudi Arabia has sold 60 million barrels of Gulf oil for both this month and next, to be delivered beyond the strait off the coast of Oman, a big increase from ⁠August.

Even so, disruption continues to squeeze global energy markets. About a third of Gulf oil is estimated to be missing from global ⁠supplies. Shortages have particularly hit refined products such as diesel, causing inflation, pushing up interest rates and hurting Mr. Trump’s Republicans ahead of the elections.

The risk of further disruption has increased since the Iran-backed Houthis advanced in Yemen this ‌month, threatening traffic through the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, an alternative export route used by Saudi Arabia.

Washington, for its part, has imposed a blockade on Iranian ports, deepening Iran’s economic crisis. Iranian officials say they ​are willing to endure the blockade to achieve their goals, and will not reopen the Strait of Hormuz until it is lifted.

Published – September 23, 2026 04:52 pm IST

Mediator Pakistan insisted on Thursday (July 30) that negotiations between Iran and the United States were ongoing, even as Washington carried out a “heavy wave of strikes” on its foe in retaliation for fresh attacks targeting Jordan.

The last two days have seen Saudi Arabia join the U.S. in striking militant groups in Iraq, while Egypt has come under fire for the first time with a drone attack at a Mediterranean port, leading its President to warn that the conflict in West Asia is facing a serious escalation.- AFP

Vessels at the Strait of Hormuz. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

U.S. and Iranian negotiators headed to a Swiss venue on Saturday (June 20, 2026) for talks on adding key details to their interim agreement to halt the war, hours after Tehran said it closed the Strait of Hormuz because of Israel’s attacks in Lebanon and warned that little might be achieved if the fighting doesn’t stop.

U.S. President Donald Trump, in response, unleashed a new threat to impose American tolls in the crucial waterway if a final deal with Iran isn’t reached in 60 days, saying the money would be for “services rendered as the Guardian Angel to the countries of the Middle East.” The agreement calls for toll-free travel for 60 days.

The announcements indicated a rough start to the technical-level talks that key mediator Pakistan said will begin Sunday (June 21, 2026), with Qatari mediators also participating.

U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance left for Switzerland on Saturday (June 20, 2026) evening, just as Iranian state TV posted video showing Iran’s negotiators arriving there. They are led by parliamentary Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf and include Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and central bank and oil officials, among others. The deal calls for billions of dollars of Iran’s assets to be unfrozen.

Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and Army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir also left for Switzerland late on Saturday (June 20, 2026).

Talks were meant to start on Friday (June 19, 2026), but the Iranians canceled plans to attend because of escalating fighting in Lebanon. Negotiators for the U.S. and Qatar, with help from Iran, worked out an agreement between Israel and the Iranian-backed Hezbollah militant group to tamp down hostilities, according to U.S. and regional officials who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to comment publicly.

Mr. Vance told reporters he would be in Switzerland “for a day or two” but was optimistic about making progress in talks about Iran’s nuclear program and on a ceasefire in southern Lebanon. He earlier confirmed that top negotiators Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff were already in Switzerland.

But Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told state TV that negotiations toward a final agreement will begin once key commitments are upheld. If they are not, “the memorandum of understanding as a whole will be jeopardized.”

The strait has emerged again as a focus. Iran’s joint military command said it was closed because of the U.S. “clear breach of its commitments” by failing to end the war. The interim deal is meant to stop fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon.

The U.S. disputed Iran’s announcement.

“Iran does not control the Strait of Hormuz. Traffic continues to flow, and U.S. forces are monitoring the situation to ensure this remains the case,” said Capt. Tim Hawkins, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command. The military said that 55 merchant ships transited Saturday (June 20, 2026) with more than 17 million barrels of oil.

The global economy braced for more uncertainty.

Ships began transiting after the interim U.S.-Iran agreement was signed earlier in the week, a milestone that left plenty of questions unanswered. The U.S. lifted its blockade of Iran’s ports and now allows Tehran to sell its oil freely — terms that have left some in U.S. Congress asking whether the war was worth it.

The interim deal signed by Mr. Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian gives negotiators 60 days to reach a nuclear agreement, but the issue is intricate and the time can be extended.

Earlier on Saturday (June 20, 2026), as mediators tried to get the parties to Switzerland, a Hezbollah official told The Associated Press that Iran informed the militant group that Tehran won’t reopen the strait until Israel announces publicly that it will comply with a “comprehensive ceasefire” in Lebanon and an end to military operations there. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn’t authorised to speak publicly.

The official said that Hezbollah would commit to a ceasefire if Israel does.

An Israeli military official, speaking on condition of anonymity in line with regulations, later said that the military had received “updated directives from the political echelon to cease fire.” The official said that the military is operating in a defensive manner in Lebanon, which includes the right to respond to Hezbollah attacks.

The official also said that five Israeli soldiers had been killed in the past 48 hours in southern Lebanon.

Neither Israel nor Hezbollah are signatories to the deal between the U.S. and Iran.

Israeli strikes on southern Lebanon on Saturday (June 20, 2026) killed at least 16 people, including two children. Seven people were trapped under rubble after strikes hit the southern city of Nabatiyeh and nearby villages, Lebanon’s National News Agency said.

An Israeli military official said that Hezbollah fired more than 50 projectiles at Israeli forces in southern Lebanon overnight. Israel’s army said that it struck dozens of Hezbollah targets and militants.

The death toll in the latest Israel-Hezbollah war has surpassed 4,000, Lebanon’s health ministry later announced.

Hezbollah and Israel went to war two days after the U.S. and Israel launched strikes on Iran on Feb. 28, with Hezbollah firing rockets and drones at northern Israel and Israel seizing large swaths of southern Lebanon.

A new round of U.S.-backed talks between the Lebanese government, and Israel is expected in Washington next week.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has vowed to keep Israeli forces in southern Lebanon until any threat to Israel is eliminated. Hezbollah has refused to halt its attacks unless Israel commits to withdrawing from Lebanon.

The dead in Lebanon included parents and two children in Barish village. In Arab Salim village, a body was pulled from a destroyed house, and in Doueir and Kfar Rumman villages, drone strikes killed a person on a motorcycle and a Lebanese soldier. Nine people were killed in strikes in Qannarit, Sohmor and Shehour villages.

Israeli jets flew low over the coastal city of Tyre.

“Our entire lives would change if there’s a ceasefire,” said one resident, Hussein Khoshman.

Some residents of northern Israel doubted the fighting would stop.

“I don’t believe in a ceasefire because it doesn’t exist,” said Miriam Hod in Metula.

Published – June 21, 2026 05:02 am IST

U.S. President Donald Trump. File
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Vessels sail through the Strait of Hormuz, Musandam, Oman, on May 20, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Chinese President Xi Jinping with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on May 20, 2026.
| Photo Credit:
AP

Chinese President Xi Jinping said further hostilities in West Asia is “inadvisable”, calling for a “comprehensive” ceasefire, as he spoke with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Beijing on Wednesday (May 20, 2026), state media reported. Two Chinese tankers laden with oil exited the Strait of Hormuz, shipping data showed.

Also read | Iran officially announces new body to manage Strait of Hormuz

U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday (May 19, 2026) said the war would be over “very quickly”. His comments came after saying he had paused a planned resumption of hostilities following a new proposal by Tehran to end the conflict. Iran’s leaders are begging for a deal, he said, adding that a new U.S. attack would happen in coming days if ‌no agreement was reached. Meanwhile, U.S. Vice-President J.D. Vance acknowledged difficulties in negotiating with a fractured Iranian leadership. 

Also read | Qatar says U.S.-Iran negotiations need ‘more time’

Iranian state media said Tehran’s latest peace proposal involves ending hostilities on all fronts including Lebanon, the exit of U.S. forces from areas close to Iran, and reparations for destruction caused by the U.S.-Israeli attacks. Tehran also sought the lifting of sanctions, release of frozen funds and an end to the U.S. marine blockade. The terms as described in the Iranian reports appeared little changed from Iran’s previous offer, which Trump rejected last week as “garbage.”

Negotiations between Iran and U.S. have stalled as the U.S. imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, while Iran has kept the key Strait of Hormuz largely closed.
| Photo Credit: AP

Oil tanker HELGA is moored at one of Iraq’s southern offshore oil terminals near Basra as it prepares to load crude oil, becoming the second vessel to arrive since the closure of the Strait of Hormuz on April 24, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters