US and Iran Push Intensive Mediation Talks as Trump Warns War Could Resume After Midterms
Negotiators are working through intermediaries to end the eight-month conflict, but with both sides holding firm on core demands and Trump threatening renewed strikes, a breakthrough remains elusive.
US and Iranian negotiators are continuing indirect peace talks aimed at ending an eight-month war, with discussions described by Tehran as "very intensive" but so far yielding no visible breakthrough. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said consultations through mediators were ongoing after his team left Qatar, adding that Iran has presented its conditions and proposals and that progress now depends on what he called Washington's political rationality.
The diplomatic push comes as President Trump escalates his warnings that full-scale hostilities could restart after Tuesday's midterm elections. Speaking in Iowa, Trump said he had held back from finishing the campaign against Iran in order to try to save lives, but warned that the situation would be over "very soon" and that Tehran could eventually face what he called the hammer.
A central obstacle is the gap between the two sides' positions. Iran continues to promote a seven-point framework that Trump rejected last month. Under the plan, the United States would lift sanctions and end its naval blockade of Iran in exchange for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, while the question of Tehran's nuclear program would be set aside for later. Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson, Esmaeil Baghaei, said the original proposal has now been condensed so that it could be implemented within two days, and that it remains the basis for dialogue through intermediaries.
According to a Reuters report citing an Iranian source, Tehran increasingly expects the war to continue rather than end in a diplomatic settlement, in part because neither side appears willing to compromise. The dynamic leaves mediators working against time, with the US administration signaling that military options remain on the table if talks stall.
Regional and international actors are pressing for a negotiated outcome. Gulf states, along with officials from China and Russia, have been engaging with Iran in an effort to keep diplomacy alive and prevent a renewed conflict, which Tehran has warned would destabilize the wider Middle East. For now, the talks remain fragile, with both sides publicly committed to their demands and no clear path yet to a durable agreement.
