Iran has no plans to negotiate with US: State media

TEHRAN: State media in Iran on Monday (Sep 28) reported that Iran's delegation to the UN General Assembly had no talks planned with the United States, after US President Donald Trump said he expected more negotiations.

"Iran's delegation in New York has no plans for negotiations with the United States," said the official IRNA news agency, citing an unnamed source close to the group.

Trump told media outlet Axios on Sunday that he expected talks to resume soon, a day after he rejected a proposal by Tehran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days.

"Iran's views and positions were conveyed clearly and explicitly to the US side ... via a Qatari mediator," IRNA said, adding that the Iranian delegation would return to Tehran on Tuesday.

Iran says it presented seven conditions for ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which roughly 20 per cent of the world's oil and gas flowed before the war.

The strait lies at the heart of the conflict that began with US-Israeli strikes on Iran in February.

Following that attack, Tehran placed a chokehold on the waterway, and Washington responded with a blockade of Iranian ports.

Axios said indirect talks mediated by Qatar could take place as early as Monday, less than a week after similar discussions between US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Iran demands a seven-day ceasefire across the Middle East, including in Lebanon, where its ally Hezbollah is regularly bombarded by Israel.

It also demands the unfreezing of its foreign assets, lifting sanctions on its oil sector, and an end to the US naval blockade.

Trump rejected their demands on Saturday.

But fighting has once again slowed as the US has not struck Iran since Sep 1, although vessels have regularly been struck in the Strait of Hormuz.