Iran Signals Diplomacy While Warning of Wider War as Mediators Push for New US-Iran Talks

NEW YORK – Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi is expected to continue contacts with international mediators in New York as diplomatic efforts intensify to prevent a new escalation in the months-long conflict between Iran and the United States.

Iranian and regional reports said mediators were preparing separate contacts with Tehran and Washington over a possible revised framework for ending the fighting and restoring normal navigation through the Strait of Hormuz. Araghchi and Qatari mediators remained in the United States following the United Nations General Assembly meetings, although Iranian state media said there were no plans for direct negotiations between Iranian and U.S. delegations in New York. The diplomatic process therefore appears, for now, to remain indirect.

The renewed diplomatic activity follows Iran’s proposal for a seven-day roadmap under which the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened and hostilities reduced if Washington accepted a series of reciprocal steps. President Donald Trump said over the weekend that he had rejected the Iranian proposal in its existing form, arguing that Tehran urgently wanted the strategically vital waterway reopened because of growing economic pressure. Mediators, however, have continued working on possible revisions to the plan.

Araghchi has said Iran remains prepared for what he described as “real diplomacy,” but warned that Tehran is also fully prepared if large-scale U.S. military attacks resume. In unusually stark language, he suggested renewed confrontation could develop into an extremely destructive or “apocalyptic” war. His remarks underline Tehran’s dual message: willingness to negotiate while insisting that it will respond militarily if attacked again.

Iranian Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei also delivered a defiant message on Monday, claiming Iranian forces had pushed hostile military forces away from waters immediately south of Iran and toward the Arabian Sea. He said foreign forces would eventually be forced from the Arabian Sea as well. The statement was presented by Tehran as evidence that its military pressure around the Strait of Hormuz had changed the regional balance, though the claim reflects Iran’s own assessment of the battlefield situation.

Trump, meanwhile, has continued to combine threats with public support for negotiations. He has said he expects further diplomatic contacts with Iran and has repeatedly argued that the United States holds the stronger position. Earlier in the UN General Assembly week, he said contacts with Tehran were continuing and expressed confidence that an eventual settlement could be reached, while maintaining that Washington would not accept an Iranian nuclear weapon.

The diplomatic push comes as another security incident has added to tensions between Iran and Western governments. British counterterrorism police arrested five men near RAF Fairford in Gloucestershire, a British military airfield used by U.S. forces during operations connected to the Iran conflict. Police said three suspicious vehicles appeared to be travelling toward the base before armed officers detained the men in the nearby Whelford area. They were initially arrested under explosives legislation and subsequently on suspicion of preparing a terrorist act.

British authorities said Monday that all five suspects were British nationals in their 20s from London. Investigators have not publicly established their motive, and counterterrorism officials have cautioned against speculation while examinations of the vehicles and other evidence continue.

Iran has strongly rejected suggestions that it had any connection to the incident. The Iranian Embassy in London described speculation linking Tehran to the arrests as unfounded, while British authorities said investigators were examining multiple possible lines of inquiry. No evidence publicly released so far has established Iranian involvement.

The combination of indirect diplomacy, military warnings and security concerns illustrates the fragile state of the confrontation. Qatar and other mediators are attempting to turn Iran’s Hormuz proposal into a framework acceptable to both sides, but substantial disagreements remain over the timing of a ceasefire, shipping through the strait, sanctions, nuclear restrictions and security guarantees.

For the moment, both Washington and Tehran are publicly leaving the door open to negotiations while simultaneously signalling that they are prepared for renewed confrontation — making the coming diplomatic contacts potentially important in determining whether the crisis moves toward a negotiated settlement or another period of intensified warfare.