Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a return to diplomacy to end the war with the US was not "impossible", with the conflict still unresolved as it reached the six-month mark on Friday.
He spoke after a meeting with Qatar's Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman, who travelled to Tehran on Thursday in a bid to revive negotiations.
They discussed efforts to ensure de-escalation and a return to dialogue, Qatar's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
"Putting diplomacy back on track isn't impossible," Mr Araghchi said in a post on X. "It hinges on US understanding of one simple fact: pressure doesn't work. The US should build trust, speak respectfully, acknowledge our rights and uphold commitments."
While direct military confrontation between Iran and the US has largely subsided, the Strait of Hormuz remains a sticking point of the conflict. Tehran continues to claim control of the waterway, while the US maintains its maritime blockade on Iranian ports – a stand-off that is sustaining the global energy crisis caused by the war.
But diplomatic efforts to end the deadlock have intensified in recent weeks, with Qatar, Oman and Pakistan encouraging Iran to return to talks. Tehran is preparing a list of conditions for the reopening of the strait at the request of mediators, said Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council.
He told Lebanese channel Al Manar TV on Thursday that Iran had agreed with Oman on a shipping corridor through the strait, with parts of the route in Omani waters and parts in Iranian waters. Ships would use a designated central channel if the US met Iran's conditions, he added.
In the six months since US and Israeli strikes killed Iran's former supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the growing divisions within the Iranian regime have widened, particularly over its approach to negotiations with Washington.
The current supreme leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, has not been seen since the strikes tat killed his father. Questions about his health and whereabouts have lingered at a critical time for Iran, as the conflict takes significant toll on the economy. Hardliners and ultraconservatives have demanded to hear from him or to see him, to endorse the diplomatic track.
'Maximum pressure'
Meanwhile, the US hopes economic pressure can force Iran into submission and break the deadlock, after a bombing campaign and naval blockade failed to reopen the strait.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the latest sanctions on Tehran would "crush the failing Iranian economy", after previously criticising the regime for funding regional proxies.
"As the Iranian people struggle to afford basic necessities, the corrupt regime continues to squander enormous sums abroad," he wrote on X. "Instead of funnelling billions of dollars to its terrorist proxies, the regime should spend that money for its people."
His remarks came after the Treasury Department imposed a new sanctions on Iran and its trade partners this week, in an effort to isolate the country's economy in what Washington has described as “economic D-Day”.
“Iran is completely collapsing,” US President Donald Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform.
