US, Iran hold separate talks with mediators in fresh bid to end seven-month war

US and Iranian officials held separate talks with mediators on Monday over Tehran's revised ceasefire proposal. Iran said reopening the Strait of Hormuz depends on Washington accepting its conditions.US, Iran resume mediated contacts as efforts to end war gain momentum. ( Photo- Reuters)US, Iranian officials spoke separately with mediators on Monday as part of a renewed effort to end seven months of war, officials from both countries said, according to Reuters.Further talks are expected to focus on an amended version of a seven-day proposal presented by Iran last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, an official briefed on the negotiations told Reuters.The war began in late February with US and Israeli attacks on Iran, killing thousands of people over seven months and disrupting global markets as key waterways for oil remained choked. The US and Iran have previously reached two ceasefire agreements through mediated talks, in April and June, but both quickly unraveled.IRAN AWAITS US RESPONSEIranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who remained in New York after attending the UN General Assembly, said Tehran was waiting for Washington's response to its latest ceasefire proposal and its conditions for restoring maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, Iranian state news agency IRNA reported. "If the Americans claim they are seeking an agreement or a peaceful solution, we have presented that solution," Araghchi said.US officials also held separate discussions with mediators on Monday, US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House, without providing further details.IRAN'S SEVEN-DAY PLAN Iran's proposal calls for an end to hostilities in Iran and Lebanon, the unfreezing of billions of dollars in Iranian assets, an end to sanctions on Iranian oil and the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports.In return, Iran would allow the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for global oil shipments. The two sides would also resume negotiations on Iran's nuclear programme, including Trump's demand that Iran's highly enriched uranium be seized or eliminated.Trump said on Saturday that he had rejected Iran's proposal, arguing that Tehran was seeking a quick agreement because of the economic pressure it was facing.However, Trump told Axios on Sunday that he expected US negotiators to hold further talks this week, leaving the door open for renewed diplomatic engagement.HORMUZ REOPENING TIED TO CONDITIONSAraghchi said on Sunday that Iranian mediators had not formally conveyed a US rejection and that Tehran was awaiting Washington's definitive position before deciding its next steps."Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met," he said.Araghchi added that only a negotiated solution could resolve the current impasse.- Ends