Mediation efforts continue as US-Iran tensions persist

Qatar on Tuesday said that meetings and contacts aimed at bridging differences between the United States and Iran are continuing, with Doha exchanging messages between the two sides and seeking to build common ground toward a peaceful settlement.

Majed Al Ansari, spokesperson for Qatar's Foreign Ministry, said that a number of meetings and exchanges of messages had taken place in recent days, including discussions held on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York.

"The effort now is focused on building common ground between the parties," Al Ansari said.

He said Qatar would continue its mediation efforts by working to narrow differences between Washington and Tehran and facilitating communication between them.

Al Ansari declined to disclose details on the current stage of the mediation efforts, but stressed that Qatar saw no alternative to a peaceful solution.

The US and Iran have failed to find ​an off-ramp from their conflict, now in its eighth month. Negotiations appeared to intensify during last week's UN General Assembly meeting in New York, but have so far not yielded any ​agreement to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

US President Donald Trump repeated his position that Iran must not obtain a nuclear weapon and that the war would be over soon.

"I don't know if they are going to give up yet but they'll give up," Trump told reporters on Tuesday. He added that "They are doing very poorly."

Su Xiaohui, an expert at China Institute of International Studies, said in an interview with China Media Group that diplomatic engagement and military pressure are likely to continue in parallel for an extended period, as contradictions and differences remain significant in US-Iran negotiations.

For Iran, Su said, maintaining control over the Strait of Hormuz and strengthening its leverage may involve continued military action against US forces to preserve its bargaining chips. Meanwhile, the US continues to maintain military pressure on Iran, repeatedly emphasizing that the military option remains on the table.

Amid the ongoing tensions, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) also issued statements regarding the deployment of US naval forces in the region.

Hossein Mohebbi, spokesman for the IRGC, confirmed told Iran's Tasnim News Agency on Tuesday that the US warships have moved at least 500 kilometers away from the entrance to the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf, noting that the United States is now unable to maneuver in the region.

"There is no longer a single US ship in the Persian Gulf," Mohebbi said, adding that even the US Fifth Fleet, which is headquartered in Bahrain and operates in the region, "does not have a single ship or small boat there."

Mohebbi also warned that any aggression against Iran would come at a high cost, saying the opposing side would "pay a heavy price."

Meanwhile, tensions have also spilled over into other parts of the Gulf region. Saudi Arabia, the largest of the Gulf states, was drawn deeper into the war this month as Iranian-aligned Houthi fighters advanced in Yemen, pushing back Saudi-backed government forces and raising concerns over Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea.

Houthi military spokesperson Yahya Sarea said in a statement on social media platform X that Saudi warplanes carried out 35 airstrikes across five Yemeni provinces over the past 24 hours.

Sarea said F-15 and Typhoon jets flying from air bases in the Saudi cities of Khamis Mushait and Taif carried out the strikes, which he said hit civilian infrastructure, including telecommunication facilities and schools.

Saudi Arabia has yet to comment on the latest Houthi claims.

Meanwhile, Majid al-Nuzaili, spokesperson for the government forces, warned in a statement on X on Tuesday that civilians should stay away from sites used by the Houthis for military activities.

Oil prices settled 2.5% lower on Tuesday as investors focused on signs of recovering crude exports from the Middle East, but prices were still on track for monthly gains on lingering concern about supply disruptions.

The US government on Tuesday offered to loan energy companies up to 40 million barrels of oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, the last US batch of crude from a global deal to unleash reserves in the wake of the Iran war.

(With input from agencies)