Iran warns US against new strikes as Trump says Houthis will not fight US
Oil prices eased but stayed high as markets weighed Saudi supply recovery and Hormuz risks
The Iranian military says it believes the US is preparing to resume strikes against Iran and has vowed to retaliate “without limitations” if Washington launches another attack. The warning comes as President Donald Trump signals he is open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in New York this week, even as Washington weighs its next military move and Tehran sets conditions for ending the nearly seven-month-old war. Meanwhile, the US has warned that fighting between Saudi Arabia and Iran-backed Houthi forces could “escalate rapidly” after a missile targeted Riyadh for the first time since the Yemen conflict resumed. Oil prices have fallen to their lowest in more than a week amid hopes for diplomacy and signs of a partial recovery in Saudi oil shipments despite continued Houthi attacks. Follow all the latest developments here:
US envoy to the UN Mike Waltz says President Donald Trump remains determined to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, while keeping the door open to negotiations.
In a post on X, Waltz said the US would continue its 'maximum pressure' campaign against Iran but would accept a return to the negotiating table if Tehran engages 'in good faith'.
Waltz also described the US-Israel war on Iran as a continuation of a 47-year conflict in remarks at an Al-Monitor event in New York.
Qatar is working with the United States and Iran to resume talks, Qatari Foreign Ministry spokesperson Majed Al Ansari said, noting that US officials have indicated that Washington wants a deal.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Qatar Economic Forum in New York, Al Ansari said Qatar had been exchanging ideas with Washington and Tehran over the past few weeks in an effort to restart negotiations.
"We have been working together through our mediator team with both Tehran and the United States to see if we can get it restarted again. A lot of ideas have been thrown back and forth," Al Ansari said, adding that Qatar was trying to "bridge the gap and find the right moment to move forward."
"We have heard statements on the record from various administration officials who have confirmed that the United States wants a deal, and the United States wants a solution to this war," he said.
Al Ansari said any settlement should provide regional stability while establishing an international understanding to protect strategic waterways, including the Strait of Hormuz, Xinhua news agency reported.
"Open the strait, stop the war. These are the two main objectives of everything that we're doing right now," he added.
Oil prices edged lower in early Asian trading on Monday (Sept. 21), but remained at historically elevated levels as markets balanced signs of recovering Saudi supplies against continuing disruption around the Strait of Hormuz.
A snapshot from OilPrice.com at 10am Tokyo time showed: WTI crude: $99.22 a barrel, down $1.08, or 1.08%; Brent crude: $103.00, down $0.92, or 0.89%; Murban crude: $117.90, down $3.47, or 2.86%.
The retreat follows an earlier decline in crude prices as traders responded to signs that Saudi Arabia could restore some disrupted exports. Reuters reported that Saudi exports had risen above 4 million barrels per day in September, compared with 2.4 million bpd in August.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was due for talks in Qatar, a key mediator in the US-Iran war, before travelling to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly, state media reported Sunday.
The minister "left Tehran on Sunday evening bound for New York... and will make a brief stop in Doha to hold consultations on the latest developments in the region," state news agency IRNA reported.
The stop in Doha comes as Iranian officials say they have once again stated through mediators Tehran's conditions for ending its blockade of the strategic Strait of Hormuz.
US President Donald Trump has signalled he is open to meeting Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian in New York this week, even as Washington weighs its next military move and Tehran presents conditions for ending the nearly seven-month-old war.
Asked by Fox News correspondent Trey Yingst whether he would meet Pezeshkian during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Trump said he would “probably be open” to it.
The potential encounter would come at a striking moment: Iran has sent Washington a list of conditions for renewed negotiations while Iranian military leaders warn that any new US attack would trigger retaliation against American bases and interests across the region.
The United States warned that fighting between Saudi Arabia and the Iran-backed Houthis could "escalate rapidly" after a missile attack targeted Riyadh for the first time since the Yemen conflict resumed.
US President Donald Trump cut short a weekend at Camp David, a secluded presidential complex in rural Maryland, to return unexpectedly to the White House.
The White House gave no explanation for the early return, which comes as a new threshold was crossed in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and the Houthis, who control a large part of Yemen and are fighting government forces backed by a coalition led by Riyadh.
Iran's economy contracted by more than 10 percent during the Middle East war, which began with US-Israeli attacks in late February.
The country's gross domestic product (GDP) shrank by 10.1 percent year-on-year from late March to late June, a period known in Iran as the first quarter of the Persian calendar, according to the Statistical Center of Iran on Sunday.
Iran has been at war with the United States since late February, when US-Israeli strikes killed the Islamic republic's supreme leader and senior military officials at the start of a vast offensive.
The strikes sparked Tehran's retaliation in blocking the Strait of Hormuz - causing global oil prices to surge - as the conflict spread in the Middle East.
Aside from this, Iran's economy has long struggled with hyperinflation and devaluation of its currency, caused in large part by economic sanctions.
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