US and Iranian officials spoke separately with mediators on Monday as part of a renewed effort to end seven months of war, according to officials of both countries.

Any further talks are expected to focus on an amended version of a seven-day proposal that Iran presented 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 shocking global markets as vital waterways for oil remained choked.

The US and Iran have twice previously agreed to ceasefires in mediated peace talks, in April and June. Those agreements quickly unravelled.

Iranian Foreign Minister ⁠Abbas Araghchi, who remained in New York after attending the General Assembly, said Iran expected to receive the US response to its latest ceasefire proposals and its conditions for restoring passage of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, according to state news agency IRNA.

"If the Americans claim they are seeking an agreement or a peaceful solution, we have presented that solution," Araghchi said.

US officials separately spoke with mediators on Monday, US President Donald Trump told reporters at the White House, without giving further details.

Iran's seven-day plan envisages an end to all hostilities in Iran and Lebanon, the unfreezing of billions of dollars' worth of Iranian assets, an end to sanctions on Iranian oil and the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports.

Iran would then allow the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, a vital conduit for oil tankers, and the two sides would also resume talks on Iran's nuclear programme and Trump's wish to seize or eliminate its highly enriched uranium.

But Trump on Monday denied a report by the news outlet Axios that he offered Iran sanctions relief and the release of frozen funds.

"Axios just released a story that 'Trump' offered Sanctions Relief and Frozen Funds to Iran. This is untrue. I offered them NOTHING!," Trump said on his Truth Social platform.

The Axios story reported that Trump "is willing to give Iran sanctions relief and release Iranian frozen funds in return for concrete Iranian steps regarding the nuclear programme." It quoted unnamed US officials.

The 80-year-old Republican called the story "a HOAX" and said the news site should withdraw it.

The US president said on Saturday he had rejected Iran's proposal, saying Iran wanted a swift agreement because of the crippling economic pressure it is under.

The strategic Strait of Hormuz lies at the heart of the conflict. The narrow waterway normally carries a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied gas.

The route has been effectively blockaded by Tehran since the war began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28.

Prices for gas and other products in the US have risen dramatically since the war began, as Trump faces dwindling popularity in national polls and his party worries about losing their majority in Congress in midterm elections come November. (Agencies)



Edited by Cecil Wong