Iran and the United States remain far apart on ending their war despite the first shuttle talks between the two sides in months, a senior Iranian official told Reuters. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly that Tehran would never surrender to US pressure, while oil prices rose as traders weighed the standoff.
Iran and the United States remain far apart on ending their war, but diplomacy is continuing, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday. The comment came after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the UN General Assembly that Tehran would never surrender to US pressure, a day after President Donald Trump used the same forum to threaten Iran with destruction if no deal is reached.
Talks resume after months-long freeze
The duelling speeches bookended the first shuttle talks between the US and Iran in months, though neither side has publicly shifted its position. Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi and US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner held indirect talks on Tuesday through mediators, the first known contact since a ceasefire collapsed in July.
Separately, the senior Iranian official said Tehran is reviewing Washington's response to its peace proposals, which prioritize lifting the US naval blockade on Iranian ports and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. According to Reuters: "There are still many differences between the Iranian and US positions, but diplomacy is continuing," the official said.
Pezeshkian rejects surrender as oil rises
Pezeshkian told the General Assembly that the Strait of Hormuz, which carried a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments before the war, cannot serve only foreign shippers while Iran is denied access. He said Iran would not bow to pressure and reiterated that Tehran is not seeking a nuclear weapon, rejecting Trump's Tuesday claim that he had stopped Iran from building one.
Oil prices rose almost 2% in choppy trading on Wednesday as traders weighed the two leaders' remarks.
Hardliners resist contacts with Washington
An opinion piece run by the semi-official Tasnim news agency, linked to the Revolutionary Guards, argued Araqchi was wrong to contact Witkoff and Kushner, framing it as a boost for Trump since Iran had already stated its terms. Iranian sources told Reuters the delegation had been barred from meeting the Americans face-to-face by the Supreme National Security Council, which includes figures selected by Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, the supreme leader.
Trump launched the war in February alongside Israel, and it has run nearly seven months, killing thousands of people and disrupting global energy supplies. Britain's UKMTO reported a cargo ship was hit by projectiles in the Strait of Hormuz, causing two casualties among the crew before it was evacuated and left on fire and adrift.
Source: Commodities & Futures News
Trading involves risk.
Risk Disclaimer
