Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said Washington had changed its approach toward Tehran, but Iran would not enter negotiations or reopen the Strait of Hormuz until the United States met seven conditions intended to demonstrate a change in behavior.
In an interview with state television Saturday, Rezaei said diplomatic exchanges had been underway for more than a month and Washington had made three proposals, with Tehran now waiting for a US response to its latest position.
“We are now waiting for the Americans' response,” Rezaei said, adding that the Strait of Hormuz “cannot reopen unless Iran's seven conditions are met.”
The comments came as Iranian negotiators met Qatari mediators in Doha after more than 12 hours of talks between Iranian and Qatari officials in Tehran the previous day. The Qatari team has maintained regular contact with Washington during the discussions, Reuters reported, citing an official briefed on the negotiations.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that President Donald Trump had not decided whether to resume military action against Iran and that Washington remained open to a diplomatic solution.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said there were no plans for direct talks with US officials and that consultations over Iran's conditions were continuing through mediators.
US and Iran remain divided over terms
Rezaei said Washington's first response was insufficient and its second proposal was more favorable, but alleged that the United States intended to negotiate and then attack Iran again. A third proposal still contains ambiguities and remains under discussion, he said.
The two sides remain divided over the steps needed to resume negotiations.
Washington wants Iran to make nuclear concessions as part of restarting talks, while Tehran is seeking measures including the lifting of the US naval blockade, the release of frozen Iranian funds and permission to sell oil before negotiations resume, Axios reported.
Reuters reported that Qatar had proposed a seven-day confidence-building plan that Iran considered inadequate. Iran's own proposal includes lifting the blockade, unfreezing assets and approving an Iranian-backed shipping route through the Strait of Hormuz.
Araghchi said Saturday that reopening the strait on Iran's terms could pave the way for negotiations with Washington.
Rezaei said Iran's seven conditions were intended to address ambiguities in an earlier Islamabad understanding, including the management of the Strait of Hormuz and the collection of fees.
Vance letter signals new US approach, Rezaei says
US Vice President JD Vance sent Rezaei a letter at Trump's direction to explore restarting negotiations, the Wall Street Journal reported this week, citing US officials and people familiar with the matter.
Vance also offered to meet Rezaei personally to discuss a negotiated settlement, the Washington Post reported Thursday, citing a US official familiar with the negotiations. Istanbul or Doha would be the most likely venues if a meeting takes place, according to the report.
The Post reported that Vance's letter described Washington's central interest as ensuring Iran does not obtain a nuclear weapon and called for Tehran to provide representatives empowered to discuss nuclear issues.
The Trump administration views Rezaei, a former commander of the Revolutionary Guards, as the key point of contact in Tehran and as someone capable of building consensus behind an agreement to halt Iran's nuclear program, the Post reported.
Rezaei said Saturday that he had read the letter but had not responded.
“The tone of the letter has completely changed,” he said, contrasting it with an earlier letter from Trump.
Trump later said the outreach concerned efforts to help Iran obtain medical supplies.
Rezaei said wartime diplomacy falls under the authority of the Supreme National Security Council, while the Foreign Ministry handles diplomacy during peacetime.
Iran debates nuclear doctrine
Rezaei said Iran had made no decision to change its nuclear doctrine but acknowledged public calls for a change following attacks on the country's nuclear facilities.
“There has been no new decision regarding a change in the nuclear doctrine,” he said.
Iran is a member of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and Rezaei said Tehran would insist on what he described as its rights under the treaty in any future negotiations.
“If there are to be nuclear negotiations, we will demand our rights,” he said.
Rezaei attacked International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi, calling him a “mercenary and servant of the Zionist regime.” He said Iran's nuclear facilities had undergone extensive inspections and asserted that there had been no diversion in its nuclear program.
He also warned of a severe Iranian response to renewed US military action.
Rezaei describes regional security talks
Rezaei said Saudi, Turkish and Pakistani officials voiced strong concerns about Israel during recent four-way talks in Tehran, including a warning from Saudi Defense Minister Khalid bin Salman that Israel could eventually target Saudi Arabia.
“Prince Khalid said that after you, Israel will go after Turkey, and then it will come after us, Saudi Arabia,” Rezaei said.
Rezaei said the three countries had requested the visit to Tehran and that the four sides agreed to continue the meetings.
“They spoke so firmly against Israel,” he said.
He said Turkish intelligence chief Ibrahim Kalin also raised concerns about Israel, while the Pakistani representative expressed concern about what Rezaei described as growing ties between Hindus and Jews directed against Muslims and Pakistan.
Rezaei portrayed the meeting as part of an effort to develop a regional security framework led by countries in the region rather than outside powers.
“God willing, this meeting will mark the beginning of new arrangements in West Asia,” he said, adding that regional countries should take responsibility for their own security.
Rezaei said the talks covered the Mecca pact, Yemen and Syria, as well as Israel's presence in southern Lebanon and southern Syria and the situations in Gaza and the West Bank.
“We believe that foreign powers should leave the region and the countries of the region themselves should maintain their security,” Rezaei said.
As US-Iran diplomacy gains momentum through Qatari mediation, Tehran is seeking to project a willingness to wage a wider war with the United States and Israel, floating the prospect of retaliation without geographic limits.
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei and the country's top military commander issued warnings on Saturday of a wider response to any renewed attack, ordering an expansion of the list of potential American and Israeli targets.
The warnings came as Qatari and Pakistani mediators intensified efforts to broker an agreement between Tehran and Washington, while reports suggested President Donald Trump was considering renewed military action after Tuesday's US midterm elections.
In remarks published by Iranian state media following a meeting with senior military commanders, Khamenei called for "maximum deterrence," saying threats of any type or scale must be met with an "immediate and effective response without geographic limitations."
He also instructed commanders to update their list of potential targets to bring a wider range of American and Israeli assets, both physical and nonphysical, within reach of Iran's armed forces.
General Abdolrahim Abdollahi, chief of staff of Iran's armed forces, echoed the warning shortly afterward, saying the military was preparing a new list of targets across a broader geographic area and warning that Tehran's response to any attack would be "unimaginable" to its adversaries.
The Wall Street Journal reported this week that Admiral Brad Cooper, the head of US Central Command, had briefed Trump on military options involving Iran.
The newspaper also reported that Washington had warned regional allies to prepare for the possibility of a short but intense resumption of fighting after the November 3 midterm elections.
Axios previously reported that the Pentagon had instructed Central Command to complete preparations for possible renewed combat operations.
The prospect of another round of war has alarmed regional powers.
Speaking at a security forum in Bahrain on Saturday, Saudi Vice Foreign Minister Waleed ElKhereiji said countries across the region wanted peace restored, although the outcome of mediation efforts remained uncertain.
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty warned at the same event that another round of fighting would be "more dangerous, more destructive" and lead nowhere.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Saturday that Tehran was reviewing proposals concerning its nuclear program and that an Iranian delegation had travelled to Qatar for further consultations.
He described an American effort to open dialogue as a "positive step," but said Iran had no immediate plans to meet US officials and that any resumption of negotiations would depend on Tehran's conditions being met.
Arab states remain open to negotiations with Iran but need a reciprocal response from Tehran, the head of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) said on Saturday, as senior regional officials warned of a more destructive phase of the US-Iran war.
The warnings came at the 22nd IISS Manama Dialogue in Bahrain, where ministers from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Britain, Syria and Yemen addressed Iranian attacks, Houthi operations and the growing risks to regional security.
"The GCC states have always called for dialogue and negotiation to resolve any issue in the region, and they still do," GCC Secretary General Jasem Mohamed Al Budaiwi said.
He said the six-member bloc maintained open channels with Iran alongside its partnerships with Western powers, China, Russia and other countries.
"In a region of widening divides, this ability to talk to all sides is one of the few assets left," he said.
"But diplomacy needs partners, partners who respond in kind."
Egypt warns next round of war could be more destructive
Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty expressed concern about renewed fighting between Washington and Tehran, warning that another escalation could have wider consequences.
"The second round will be more dangerous, more destructive, and it will lead to nowhere. We have to draw lessons from the past," Abdelatty said, according to Reuters.
He also warned that military action could unleash consequences beyond the control of those who initiated it.
"A war can begin with a unilateral decision, but no one can unilaterally control its consequences or stop it," he told the conference.
Abdelatty called for diplomatic channels, confidence-building measures and regional participation in security arrangements, warning against repeating what he described as mistakes during negotiations over the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement.
"Deterrence without diplomacy may postpone war, but cannot prevent it," he said.
Strait of Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb emerge as major concerns
Al Budaiwi called for navigation through the Strait of Hormuz to return to conditions before February 28, when the US-Iran war began.
He said Iranian attacks on GCC member states had caused casualties and damaged civilian and critical infrastructure, while disruptions to the strait had affected energy prices, shipping, insurance and global supply chains.
"The GCC states were not a party to the war and did not seek it," he said.
Saudi Vice Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji also warned about threats to international trade through the Strait of Hormuz, the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb.
"Securing navigation in the Red Sea and the Straits of Bab el Mandeb and Hormuz is a shared responsibility that requires regional and international cooperation based on the respect of international law," he said.
He condemned renewed Houthi attacks on Saudi Arabia and threats to commercial shipping, accusing the group of undermining diplomatic efforts to end the Yemen conflict.
Yemen points to Iranian support for Houthis
Yemeni Foreign Minister Afrah al-Zouba directly linked regional maritime threats to outside support for the Houthis.
"The UN panel of experts on Yemen has shown that all the support being given to the Houthis from Iran, from Iraqi armed groups and Hezbollah has been proven," she said, citing findings she attributed to UN experts.
Al-Zouba called for efforts to stop weapons and financing reaching the group, warning of its connections with other armed organizations.
She also cited information received in 2025 about cooperation between the Houthis and Somalia's al-Shabab militant group involving weapons and training.
"Coastal security starts with security on land and the protection of civilians," she said, arguing that restoring Yemeni state authority was essential to protecting maritime routes.
Britain pledges military support alongside diplomacy
British Middle East Minister Stephen Doughty said the UK had deployed air defense equipment and personnel to Saudi Arabia to help protect against missiles and drones following renewed Houthi attacks.
He said British forces had also flown defensive missions over Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan and the UAE during Iranian attacks and provided air defense support to Bahrain and Kuwait.
"We are clear and united in understanding the threat that is posed by Iran and the very serious threats from Iran and its proxies," Doughty said.
He reiterated Britain's opposition to Iran acquiring nuclear weapons while promising continued diplomatic engagement.
"We must strain every sinew for peace," he said, adding that Britain would support threatened partners "with actions and not just words."
Syria condemns attacks on Arab countries
Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani also condemned missile and drone attacks on regional states, pledging support for Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Oman and Jordan.
"We are against using Syria to threaten the neighboring countries," he said.
Al-Shaibani said Damascus was working to consolidate state control over weapons and strengthen cooperation with neighboring countries.
The remarks reflected a common theme at the conference: calls for diplomacy with Iran alongside demands for stronger defenses, an end to attacks on Arab countries and restored freedom of navigation.
Al Budaiwi said the GCC's offer of regional cooperation remained open.
"This invitation still stands for those who answer it with action," he said.
Divisions within Iran's political establishment over how to end the country's prolonged state of neither war nor peace are coming into sharper focus as mediators race to secure an agreement with Washington amid preparations for possible renewed US-Israeli strikes.
Qatari mediators held talks in Tehran for at least 12 hours on Friday while maintaining contact with the White House, Axios reported. The diplomatic push comes amid reports that Washington and Israel are preparing for possible military action after next week's US midterm elections.
The competing approaches have emerged in the wake of Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei's call to end the impasse.
According to an official account of a meeting with Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei, reportedly held on October 27, Khamenei called for an end to the war and the current uncertainty, while insisting that Iran's conditions for an agreement be met.
Advocates of diplomacy have seized on his remarks to press for renewed negotiations with Washington, while conservatives emphasise military deterrence, economic resilience and maintaining Tehran's demands. The disagreement is less about whether to negotiate than the terms on which Iran should do so.
President Masoud Pezeshkian, who has repeatedly warned about the economic consequences of prolonged uncertainty, pledged a day after the account was published to fulfil Khamenei's instructions.
"You cannot plan in a state of indecision," Pezeshkian said on October 24, recalling that the late supreme leader Ali Khamenei had also called for an end to the impasse.
"But I still believe we should go [to negotiations] and move beyond the neither-war-nor-peace situation," he added.
Reformist and moderate politicians have argued that prolonged uncertainty is discouraging investment, delaying economic decisions and deepening public anxiety.
Mohammad Ali Abtahi, a former vice-president under Mohammad Khatami, has advocated "dignified negotiations", while former lawmaker Mansour Haghighatpour, a moderate conservative close to Ali Larijani, said Iran faced a choice between renewed war and an agreement.
"National interests dictate that we choose a path through which we can achieve our objectives with the least possible cost and damage," Haghighatpour told Donya-e Eqtesad, urging Washington to return to negotiations in Islamabad.
Javad Youneszadeh, a member of Pezeshkian's media team, went further, arguing that negotiations were compatible with the supreme leader's emphasis on resistance rather than a retreat from it.
In a commentary published on the president's website, he said both Ali Khamenei and his successor had authorised talks with Washington despite what he described as repeated American breaches of commitments.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran still wants to return to the Islamabad memorandum of understanding, even assuming that the enemy has disrupted everything," he wrote.
Former Iranian diplomat Kourosh Ahmadi also urged de-escalation, warning that refusing to show flexibility could lead to renewed fighting, a prolonged naval blockade and further economic pressure.
Conservatives and hardliners, meanwhile, have interpreted Khamenei's remarks as a call to strengthen Iran's position rather than soften its demands, arguing that ending the uncertainty requires military preparedness and economic resilience alongside diplomacy.
Fada-Hossein Maleki, a hardline member of parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, told the newspaper Iran that resolving the impasse required a new strategic framework involving the government, parliament and armed forces.
He said the framework should strengthen Iran's defence capabilities, address economic problems and prepare the country for both negotiations and military confrontation.
Maleki stressed that Khamenei's call should not be taken as a signal that Tehran was moving towards war or was prepared to accept peace at any price.
Conservative political activist Alireza Khojastehpour similarly told IRNA that stronger military deterrence could help translate Iran's battlefield achievements into diplomatic gains while reducing the economic costs of prolonged uncertainty.
The Mehr news agency also called for preparations to withstand sustained external pressure, citing warnings from Pezeshkian and Rezaei about the economic consequences of a prolonged blockade.
"From these statements, it can be understood that the country's decision-makers are planning economically and militarily to resist external pressure," Mehr wrote, while acknowledging the costs imposed on Iranian households.
The competing interpretations suggest that Khamenei's call to end the impasse has done little to resolve the underlying disagreement over how to achieve it. While advocates of diplomacy see negotiations as a way to ease economic pressure, conservatives emphasise deterrence and resistance, leaving unanswered the question of what Tehran is prepared to concede, if anything, to secure an agreement.
Qatari mediators returned to Tehran on Friday, barely a day after leaving the Iranian capital following the reported rejection of their latest peace proposal, as Washington and Tehran remained divided over which side should make the first concessions.
The delegation's swift return suggested that diplomatic efforts were continuing despite reports by Iranian news agencies that senior officials had rejected key provisions of the Qatari-mediated proposal.
On Friday, as the Qatari delegation, led by a senior adviser to Qatar's prime minister, held talks with Iranian diplomats headed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, Tehran's Friday prayer leader, Mohsen Haj Ali Akbari, poured cold water on the prospect of a breakthrough with Washington.
He said past experience showed Washington's offers of talks could coincide with more serious threats than its public military warnings suggested.
More notably, he lent weight to calls for a revision of Iran's nuclear doctrine, arguing that they were neither a fringe position nor merely an emotional reaction.
On Thursday, Araghchi said Tehran remained committed to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) as the basis for further negotiations.
He rejected proposals requiring Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as a unilateral confidence-building measure before the verified lifting of naval restrictions and the release of $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets.
‘War is certain’
The disagreement over which side should act first remains a central obstacle to negotiations, even as regional mediators continue efforts to prevent another round of fighting.
A separate diplomatic initiative by US Vice President JD Vance has also yet to produce a formal Iranian response.
Iranian media have confirmed receipt of a letter from Vance to security chief Mohsen Rezaei, but officials have not commented on its contents, insisting instead that Tehran's conditions for an agreement remain unchanged.
Former parliamentary national security committee chairman Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh offered a far more pessimistic assessment of the renewed mediation efforts.
"The mediators' visits to Tehran are a sign that war is certain, not that diplomacy is being revived," he wrote on X on Friday, arguing that only a regional agreement involving the United States and China could now prevent a fourth war.
Economic costs
In an article published Thursday, the reformist newspaper Shargh also expressed grave concern about the diplomatic deadlock..
It warned that celebrating mine attacks and escalating regional tensions while Iran's economy faced severe shortages of essential inputs could prove a potentially fatal mistake.
The conservative newspaper Khorasan offered a more measured assessment of the diplomatic difficulties, while supporting Araghchi's rejection of proposals requiring Iran to de-escalate before Washington lifted restrictions on shipping.
While some commentators warn that prolonged confrontation is deepening Iran's economic problems and increasing the danger of war, others argue that making concessions under military and economic pressure would weaken Tehran's position in any eventual agreement.
Who moves first?
The discussions appear to be focused on establishing a framework for renewed negotiations rather than resolving every outstanding issue in a comprehensive peace agreement.
Vance's letter, according to US media reports, sought to restart talks with Iran's nuclear program included from the outset. Tehran, meanwhile, insists that steps to ease the naval blockade and release frozen assets must precede substantive nuclear negotiations.
The disagreement is reflected in a proposed seven-day framework. Washington wants nuclear discussions to begin on the first day, while Tehran insists they should begin on the seventh, after other measures have been implemented.
Although the proposed timetable separates the two positions by six days, the dispute is about more than timing. Each side wants the other to demonstrate its commitment before taking what it considers a significant political risk.
The stakes remain high. US officials have warned of possible renewed military operations after the November 3 midterm elections, while Tehran continues to reject proposals it regards as requiring unilateral concessions.
For now, the return of the Qatari mediators shows that diplomatic contacts remain active. Whether those contacts can prevent another round of fighting depends on finding a sequence of steps that both Washington and Tehran are prepared to accept.
A small boat attached two explosive devices to a tanker in the Strait of Hormuz, causing an engine-room fire and temporarily disabling the vessel, the United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations (UKMTO) said on Friday, providing new details about an attack the previous day.
The incident occurred on Thursday about 25 nautical miles (46 km) northeast of Khasab, Oman. UKMTO said the boat approached the tanker's port side and attached the explosives to its hull above the waterline.
The agency said the fire had been extinguished, all crew members were safe and there was no environmental damage. The vessel was continuing to its next port of call.
Three maritime security sources identified the tanker as the Panama-flagged Louise 1 and said the devices were limpet mines, Reuters reported.
Iran says it destroyed US unmanned vessel
In a separate development on Friday, Iran's navy said it had destroyed a US unmanned vessel in the eastern Strait of Hormuz, according to Iranian state media.
There was no immediate confirmation from the US military.
The report came amid continued maritime tensions between Washington and Tehran, with commercial shipping facing repeated attacks and disruptions since the US war with Iran began in February.
First successful limpet mine attack since war began
The attack on the Louise 1 marked the first known successful use of limpet mines against a tanker in the area since the war began, according to two maritime security sources cited by Reuters.
The sources said a similar attempt in September had failed when the devices did not detonate.
Limpet mines are explosive devices attached directly to a ship's hull. They differ from sea mines placed in the water, which can detonate when vessels pass over or near them.
"The apparent ability of a small craft to approach a transiting tanker, deploy explosive devices and withdraw presents a significant security concern, particularly in the Strait's congested shipping lanes," Greece-based maritime risk management company Marisks said on Friday.
Marisks said such explosives were inexpensive and could be deployed using small boats. It said limpet mines had been used against tankers in the region in previous years.
Iran reports three tankers struck sea mines
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said on Thursday that three tankers had struck sea mines, exploded and caught fire while attempting to leave the Strait of Hormuz through a southern route it described as unauthorized.
The IRGC navy said the vessels had switched off their radar and navigation systems and ignored warnings from Iranian forces. It said the tankers were left along the strait's southern coast.
The UKMTO advisory described an attack involving explosives attached directly to a tanker's hull. It remains unclear whether the Louise 1 was among the three vessels mentioned by the IRGC.
The Strait of Hormuz connects the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman and is a critical route for international oil and gas shipments.
Tanker previously targeted in Black Sea
The Louise 1 was previously struck by Ukrainian naval drones in the Black Sea in July, according to Reuters.
Ukraine's SBU security service said the tanker was targeted over its alleged role in transporting Russian oil as part of Moscow's so-called shadow fleet, a network of vessels used to maintain oil exports despite Western sanctions.
The tanker's Panama-based operator, Aquarius Maritime Ventures, could not immediately be reached for comment, Reuters reported.