Iran sets conditions for talks with Washington via Qatar as Strait of Hormuz standoff drags on

Iran has set out conditions for a return to talks with the United States, while the naval standoff in the Gulf continues and disputes persist over civilian and military casualties on both sides.

Active fighting has eased in recent days. According to GlobalSecurity's Iran War tracker, there had been twelve consecutive operational periods without an announced US or coalition strike on Iranian territory as of 18 September, and Iran had not fired a ballistic missile at a host nation for a tenth consecutive day. However, Iran maintains it has effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, while the US continues what reports describe as a blockade of Iran's southern ports. Both sides have blamed each other for the collapse of the last truce.

Iran's conditions and the response so far

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, told Al Jazeera on 19 September that Tehran had sent conditions to Washington through Qatari mediators and was "awaiting a response from President Trump."

According to Al Jazeera's report, Rezaei's stated conditions included an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, the release of Iran's frozen funds, and an end to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. Other outlets, including Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, reported a similar core set of demands. The exact number and full list of conditions varies across reports – some cite additional demands relating to alleged US interference in Iran's internal affairs and US cooperation with opponents of Iran's government – so this should be treated as an evolving, not fully settled, account.

Analysts quoted by Al Jazeera noted that Rezaei did not repeat Iran's earlier demand for war reparations, which they read as a possible, if minor, sign of movement. Rezaei also said: "We are prepared for a decisive war."

Iran's parliament speaker, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, said on 20 September, according to Al Arabiya: "Until these conditions are met, the legitimate rights of the Iranian people are recognised, and the Americans fulfil their commitments, there will be no opening for a return to the previous conditions for negotiations or for the Strait of Hormuz to be opened."

As of the most recent reporting, the US had not formally responded to Iran's conditions. US President Donald Trump cut short a stay at Camp David on 19 September and returned to the White House; several outlets, including Iran International and The Week, reported this alongside Iran's "decisive war" warning, though they noted the reasons for the early return had not been officially confirmed. A State Department security advisory covering the region was also issued around this time, according to reporting reviewed for this article.

UN mission cites possible war crimes on both sides

A UN fact-finding mission reported on 17 September that it found "reasonable grounds to believe" the US had committed war crimes in two specific strikes earlier this year, according to Al Jazeera and CNN. One strike, near Minab, killed 156 people, including 120 schoolchildren, according to reporting reviewed for this article; the mission said the US had failed to adequately verify the site's civilian character before the strike. A second strike, on a sports complex in Lamerd, reportedly killed 22 civilians.

The same UN body also found that Iranian authorities had committed crimes against humanity in suppressing the 2025–2026 protests, including internet shutdowns, unlawful killings, torture and enforced disappearances, and named a number of officials for further investigation.

The White House has dismissed the UN Human Rights Council report; Iran had not issued a public response to the findings as of the most recent reporting available.

Casualty figures remain heavily disputed

Casualty figures in this conflict have not been reconciled and should be treated with caution. The Pentagon's own disclosed US military death toll has itself become a point of dispute: officials told the Washington Post on 18 September that the true figure is higher than the 18 (later revised to 14) shown in Pentagon records, with the Post citing sources putting the toll at 22 to 23. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth publicly rejected the Post's reporting as "fake."

Iranian military and civilian casualty estimates vary even more widely between Iranian, Israeli, US and independent sources, with no single figure treated as authoritative by all sides. This report does not cite a specific total for that reason.

Economic and regional effects

Brent crude has eased to a little below $103 a barrel, still well above pre-war levels but down from a March peak, as Saudi Arabia has rerouted exports around the blocked strait.

Iran's currency has continued to lose value against the US dollar, though reported figures for the scale of the decline vary by source and measurement period.

The conflict has also spread to Yemen, where Houthi forces reportedly seized the port of Mokha and Perim Island in the Bab el-Mandeb Strait in mid-September, according to CNBC, NPR and NBC News, and struck at Saudi targets, though the precise details of individual strikes remain unconfirmed even in Western reporting. The UN's migration agency reported on 18 September that the fighting had displaced 112,000 people inside Yemen, with thousands more fleeing to Djibouti.

In Washington, the US House of Representatives passed a third war-powers resolution on 15 September aimed at limiting the president's authority to strike Iran, passing 220–204, according to US News and other outlets. China's foreign minister has separately urged a return to talks and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, ahead of a planned meeting between President Trump and President Xi Jinping.