TEHRAN
\nIran has signalled it remains open to diplomacy with the United States, six months into a war that has upended the Middle East, but insisted negotiations would not resume unless Washington abandoned its campaign of economic pressure.
\n\u201cPutting diplomacy back on track isn\u2019t impossible. It hinges on US understanding of one simple fact: pressure doesn\u2019t work,\u201d Iran\u2019s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, wrote on X on Friday. He said Washington needed to \u201cbuild trust, speak respectfully, acknowledge our rights and uphold commitments\u201d.
\nPakistan and Qatar are among the mediators attempting to bring an end to the conflict, which was launched by the US and Israel in late February. An April ceasefire brought the most intense fighting to a halt, and the sides signed a memorandum in June setting out a path towards a final peace agreement.
\nHowever, the MoU collapsed because both Washington and Tehran accused each other of breaking the ceasefire terms and failing to honour their commitments.
\nMeanwhile, the US announced further Iran-related sanctions on Friday, after the treasury secretary, Scott Bessent, warned of an escalating \u201ceconomic D-Day\u201d against the country.
\nA US official said Donald Trump\u2019s administration planned to restrict Egypt\u2019s Banque Misr over its dealings with Tehran by removing US financial access from the bank\u2019s branches in the United Arab Emirates.
\nIf finalised, the measure would cut Banque Misr UAE off from correspondent banking relationships with US financial institutions.
\nThe US Treasury separately imposed penalties on a Hong Kong-based entity and an individual linked to Iran\u2019s Bank Melli.
\nBessent said \u201cno one is above the reach of US sanctions\u201d, as Washington prepares to urge foreign finance officials to sever Tehran\u2019s economic lifelines at an upcoming G20 meeting in North Carolina.
\nTehran condemned the measures as \u201cstate terrorism\u201d and urged governments around the world not to enforce them.<\/p>\n
Hormuz remains flashpoint
\nTensions also remained high around the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world\u2019s most important energy corridors.
\nThe Iranian lawmaker Esmail Kowsari warned that unless Washington lifted its naval counterblockade and sanctions in accordance with the June memorandum, the waterway would remain closed.
\n\u201cNot only will the Strait of Hormuz remain closed, but the United States must be ready for our offensive actions,\u201d he told state television.
\nBefore the conflict, about a fifth of global oil supplies passed through the strait, making its reopening a central focus of international mediation.
\nQatar\u2019s prime minister, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, met Araghchi in Tehran on Thursday and stressed the importance of restoring maritime traffic.
\nMohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran\u2019s supreme national security council, said Tehran was preparing conditions under which the waterway could reopen, including an end to the regional war and the lifting of the US blockade.
\nThe US military, meanwhile, said American forces had cleared sea mines planted months earlier by Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
\n\u201cToday, international shipping lanes are open and momentum is building,\u201d said Admiral Brad Cooper, the commander of US Central Command.
\nCommercial shipping through the region, however, remains subdued amid continued Iranian threats and uncertainty over whether a lasting settlement can be reached.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
TEHRAN Iran has signalled it remains open to diplomacy with the United States, six months into a war that has upended the Middle East, but insisted negotiations would not resume unless Washington abandoned its campaign of economic pressure. \u201cPutting diplomacy back on track isn\u2019t impossible. It hinges on US understanding of one simple fact: pressure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":564680,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-564668","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n