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

With US midterm elections about to conclude 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 hostilitiesChief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Ali Abdollahi warned Tuesday that Irans armed forces would respond to any level or type of threat from the United States and Israel immediately and without geographical limitationsMeanwhile Secretary of Irans Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei said in a post on social media platform X that the US response to Irans demands was not convincing Xinhua news agecy reported They must completely and explicitly address Irans seven conditions and act upon them Only in this case the Strait of Hormuz will be reopened Rezaei saidIran 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 Monday that Iran had reduced the period for implementing the sevenday plan to two days in good faithUS President Donald Trump said 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 AxiosTrump later wrote on Truth Social that Iran wanted a settlement and that one could happen soon Axios reported that 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 hostilitiesUS Vice President JD Vance and White House envoy Steve Witkoff favor diplomacy while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of Defence 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 saidThe Wall Street Journal WSJ reported Monday that Trump was leaning toward launching a largescale attack on Iran after the midterm elections potentially targeting Iranian infrastructure and nuclear facilities although no final decision had been madeQatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said 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 officialsQatar 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 achievedAlso on Tuesday Egyptian President Abdel Fattah ElSisi urged the United States and Iran to show maximum flexibility and seek a political settlementAt 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 Egypts continued efforts with regional and international partners to deescalate tensionsEgyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty and his Iranian counterpart Seyed Abbas Araghchi made a phone call on Tuesday evening and discussed regional efforts to deescalate tensions and reach a comprehensive deal addressing all parties concerns the Egyptian Foreign Ministry saidDespite diplomatic efforts military tensions have persisted The United States attacked Irans strategic Qeshm Island in the Strait of Hormuz on Monday The WSJ reported citing US officialsIrans Islamic Revolution Guard Corps said late Monday that its air defense systems had intercepted three US drones in the countrys southern airspace identifying two of them as MQM170 Outlaw drones which it said were intercepted over Qeshm Island and the third as an MQ9 Reaper which it said was shot down in waters east of the Strait of HormuzThe strikes were part of a series of limited attacks Washington had secretly carried out against Iran in recent weeks while President Trump was touting the possibility of a diplomatic deal the WSJ report saidWashington did not publicly announce the strikes to avoid signaling a resumption of major combat operations one US official was quoted as saying