US-Iran tensions persist as midterms unfold, regional mediation continues

With US midterm elections beginning on Tuesday, tensions between Washington and Tehran remained high as both sides exchanged warnings and conditions for a possible settlement, while regional countries stepped up diplomatic efforts to prevent renewed hostilities.

Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Ali Abdollahi warned on Tuesday that Iran's armed forces would respond to any level or type of threat from the United States and Israel immediately and "without geographical limitations."

Meanwhile, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei said in a post on social media platform X that the US response to Iran's demands was not convincing.

"They must completely and explicitly address Iran's seven conditions and act upon them. Only in this case the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened," Rezaei said.

Iran conveyed a plan to the United States through mediators on September 22 to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if its conditions were met.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that Iran had reduced the period for implementing the seven-day plan to two days in good faith.

Trump weighs options

US President Donald Trump said on Monday that he was "in no rush" to decide whether to resume military action against Iran.

"One way or the other, we will do something, but there is no rush. We crippled them financially," Trump said in a phone interview with Axios.

Trump later wrote on Truth Social that Iran wanted a settlement and that could happen soon.

According to Axios, Trump was weighing three possible courses of action: reaching a diplomatic deal, resuming military action, or maintaining maximum economic pressure without a deal or renewed hostilities.

US Vice President JD Vance and White House envoy Steve Witkoff favor diplomacy, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth are pushing for renewed military operations. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Secretary of State Marco Rubio favor maintaining the current "no war, no deal" status quo, the report said.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Monday that Trump was leaning toward launching a large-scale attack on Iran after the midterm elections, potentially targeting Iranian infrastructure and nuclear facilities, although no final decision had been made.

Regional countries step up mediation efforts

Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said on Tuesday that the United States and Iran were reviewing proposals to end their conflict, but differences remained unresolved.

He told a weekly press briefing that a Qatari delegation had returned from Tehran on Monday evening after more than three hours of talks with Iranian officials.

Qatar was relaying proposals in coordination with Pakistan, Gulf Cooperation Council countries and other regional and international partners, he said, adding that no concrete breakthrough had been achieved.

Also on Tuesday, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi urged the United States and Iran to show maximum flexibility and seek a political settlement.

At a joint press conference in Cairo with visiting Slovenian President Natasa Pirc Musar, he called on the two sides to "create space for understanding and dialogue" and pledged Egypt's continued efforts with regional and international partners to de-escalate tensions.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi made a phone call on Tuesday evening and discussed regional efforts to de-escalate tensions and reach a comprehensive deal addressing all parties' concerns, the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said.

Limited US strikes underscore escalation risks

Despite diplomatic efforts, military tensions have persisted.

The United States attacked Iran's strategic Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, The WSJ reported, citing US officials.

Iran's Islamic Revolution Guard Corps said on Monday that its air defense systems had intercepted three US drones in the country's southern airspace, identifying two of them as MQM-170 Outlaw drones, which it said were intercepted over Qeshm Island, and the third as an MQ-9 Reaper, which it said was shot down in waters east of the Strait of Hormuz.

The strikes were part of a series of limited attacks Washington had secretly carried out against Iran in recent weeks while Trump was touting the possibility of a diplomatic deal, the WSJ report said.

Washington did not publicly announce the strikes to avoid signaling a resumption of major combat operations, one US official was quoted as saying.