Iran’s top diplomat said resuming diplomacy with the U.S. “isn’t impossible,” after what he described as “creative discussions” with Qatar, a mediator in the war between Washington and Tehran.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on X on Friday that progress “hinges on U.S. understanding of one simple fact: pressure doesn’t work.” He called on Washington to build trust and uphold its commitments, without elaborating.
The relatively positive comments came after a series of diplomatic visits to Tehran alongside talks between Iran and Oman about a framework for allowing vessels through the Strait of Hormuz. Pakistan, the main mediator in the six-month conflict, sent a delegation to the Iranian capital on Monday, while senior officials from Oman and Qatar followed later in the week.
The U.S. remains hawkish in its public comments. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent launched a campaign to further squeeze Iran’s economy on Monday, threatening punishment against any country doing business with the Islamic Republic.
President Donald Trump has signaled he will not lift a blockade of Iranian ports — a key demand of Tehran’s — just to restart talks. He’s also got no interest in returning to the terms of a now lapsed interim peace deal agreed to in June, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani’s meetings in the Iranian capital focused on ways to create “appropriate conditions” for the resumption of talks with the U.S., the Gulf country’s Foreign Ministry said on Thursday.
Another priority is to work on ways to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, he said. The critical waterway for oil and gas supplies has been effectively paralyzed since the U.S. and Israel started the war at the end of February.
Iran’s top security official, Mohsen Rezaee, said the country would move to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the U.S. meets a set of conditions which he didn’t specify. Iran’s military said on Wednesday that a revenue-sharing agreement had been reached with Oman regarding transit through the strait, though Iranian officials have repeatedly said a deal would not equate to an immediate re-opening of the waterway.
Still, the flow of crude through the strait has been rising as Iran’s threat to shipping has dissipated.
About 6 million to 8 million barrels a day of crude are now being shipped through the the key chokepoint, according to estimates from oil traders involved in and monitoring cargo activity. That’s roughly half prewar levels. Total oil exports from the Persian Gulf, which includes land routes, have recovered to around two-thirds of volumes seen before February, analysts at Goldman Sachs Group Inc. estimated.
Oil prices were broadly steady on Friday, with Brent crude trading at about $89 a barrel, having gained about 45% this year.
Iraq is offering buyers of its crude the option to collect supplies from outside of the Persian Gulf for the first time since the war began, highlighting the resilience of nations’ efforts to maintain exports. But Qatar extended a force majeure on liquefied natural gas supplies to European and Asian buyers by another month as uncertainty persists.
Araghchi was a prominent supporter of the now-collapsed ceasefire deal signed in June, a stance that attracted criticism from Iranian hardliners who are broadly in favor of continued fighting.
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