The conditions include ending the US naval blockade around the Strait of Hormuz
Maryam Zakir-Hussain & Alex Croft
Sunday 20 September 2026 00:01 BST
Smoke seen rising near Riyadh airport
Iran has laid out to Donald Trump its conditions for re-engaging in negotiations aimed at ending the war with the US, security chief Mohsen Rezaei said.
The conditions include ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian funds and ending the naval blockade, Rezaei said in an interview according to Al Jazeera.
Discussions with Qatari and Pakistani mediators are ongoing, he added, as the delegations work to bring an end to the stalemate which has seen the war drag past the six-month mark.
It comes amid fears of war widening in the region as violence between the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia escalates.
A large plume of black smoke was seen near Riyadh's main airport on Saturday after booms were heard. Saudi Arabia sent alerts overnight warning of potential danger around the capital and the city of Al-Kharj, before issuing an all-clear on Saturday morning.
The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and much of the north, have been launching attacks towards Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh in July, with strikes targeting Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.
Smoke seen rising near Riyadh airport
Iran has laid out to Donald Trump its conditions for re-engaging in negotiations aimed at ending the war with the US, security chief Mohsen Rezaei said.
The conditions include ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian funds and ending the naval blockade, Rezaei said in an interview according to Al Jazeera.
Discussions with Qatari and Pakistani mediators are ongoing, he added, as the delegations work to bring an end to the stalemate which has seen the war drag past the six-month mark.
It comes amid fears of war widening in the region as violence between the Iran-aligned Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia escalates.
A large plume of black smoke was seen near Riyadh's main airport on Saturday after booms were heard. Saudi Arabia sent alerts overnight warning of potential danger around the capital and the city of Al-Kharj, before issuing an all-clear on Saturday morning.
The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and much of the north, have been launching attacks towards Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh in July, with strikes targeting Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.
KEY POINTS
Tehran lays out to Trump fresh conditions for ending war, says security chief
Black smoke seen near Riyadh airport after Tehran-backed Houthis vowed revenge
Trump says he faces 'big decision' on whether to resume major attacks on Iran
Tanker hit by projectile in Strait of Hormuz
UN experts level explosive war crimes accusation at US over Trump’s Iran strikes
Iran’s national security chief says ‘no trust whatsoever’ in US
Show latest update
8 hours ago
300,000 Iranians attend biggest pro-regime rally since war began as Tehran recruits new ‘volunteer’ forces
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets of Tehran on Friday in a massive government-organized display of defiance as they pledged their readiness to take up arms in the largest demonstration since the war began in February.
Tehran is seeking to project national unity as its economy struggles under the weight of a US naval blockade and fresh sanctions. The Iranian government simultaneously reported launching a new attack on a commercial vessel in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime passage it has attempted to control since the war began.
Varying reports emerged regarding the headcount of volunteers enlisting for limited military instruction to safeguard the nation in an initiative dubbed "Janfaday-e Iran," or the "ones who sacrifice their lives for Iran." Dressed in combat uniforms and waving flags, participants marched through central Tehran as onlookers cheered.
8 hours ago
300,000 Iranians attend biggest pro-regime rally since war began as Tehran recruits new ‘volunteer’ forces
Hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets of Tehran on Friday in a massive government-organized display of defiance as they pledged their readiness to take up arms in the largest demonstration since the war began in February.
Tehran is seeking to project national unity as its economy struggles under the weight of a US naval blockade and fresh sanctions. The Iranian government simultaneously reported launching a new attack on a commercial vessel in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital maritime passage it has attempted to control since the war began.
Varying reports emerged regarding the headcount of volunteers enlisting for limited military instruction to safeguard the nation in an initiative dubbed "Janfaday-e Iran," or the "ones who sacrifice their lives for Iran." Dressed in combat uniforms and waving flags, participants marched through central Tehran as onlookers cheered.
For days, state media channels have urged citizens to join the effort, broadcasting that training with assault rifles will commence shortly
Alex Croft20 September 2026 00:01
9 hours ago
JP Morgan says it is struggling to predict oil prices amid US-Iran war
Investment bank JP Morgan has admitted it is struggling to model how oil prices will respond to the US-Iran war, saying: “we simply don't know how to model the endgame”.
The bank said it had initially expected economic pressures – including oil above $100 a barrel, inflation at 4 per cent and 10-year US borrowing costs at 5 per cent – would push the Trump administration towards a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
“The market is on edge,” its analysts said.
Oil has since risen above $100 a barrel and 10-year US government bond yields have crossed 5 per cent, while inflation and petrol prices remain below the thresholds JP Morgan had identified.
"Six months later [since the war began], many of those lines have been crossed, yet the exit strategy is less clear, not more," said the commodities research team at JP Morgan in note.
"For the first time since the start of the Iran conflict, we don't have a baseline view. We simply don't know how to model the endgame."
Alex Croft19 September 2026 23:01
10 hours ago
Yemen is not Iran’s bargaining chip, foreign minister says
Yemen is not an Iranian bargaining chip and its future must be decided by Yemenis through their own political process, Yemen’s foreign minister Afrah al-Zouba said in an interview published on Friday.
“Yemen is not compensation for anyone’s losses in another arena, nor an arena for settling scores, nor a bargaining chip to improve the regional negotiating position of any regional power,” al-Zouba said.
She said restoring the Yemeni state’s authority over its coast, ports and islands was essential to regional security and freedom of navigation, particularly in the Red Sea and Bab el-Mandeb, where Houthi advances along the western coast posed a serious threat to shipping.
“We reject Iranian support that strengthens Houthi capabilities and uses Yemen’s geography to threaten neighboring countries and maritime routes,” she said.
Al-Zouba said Yemen’s crisis predated the US-Iran war but that the wider regional conflict had made the situation more complicated.
Alex Croft19 September 2026 22:00
11 hours ago
Trump says high cost of gas is 'a very inexpensive priceto pay' for Iran war - ICYMI
Trump says high cost of gas is 'a very inexpensive priceto pay' for Iran war
Alex Croft19 September 2026 21:01
12 hours ago
Iran has not heard any messages from US, says foreign ministry spokesperson
Iran has not heard any messages in response from the US after it conveyed its conditions for re-entering any negotiations about the Iran war, an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson has said.
Speaking on Iranian state TV, the spokesperson said a Pakistani interior minister is due to visit Tehran to discuss bilateral ties, but that there has been no word from the US.
As we reported earlier, Iran says discussions with Qatari and Pakistani mediators are ongoing after Tehran made clear to the US of its conditions which include ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian funds and ending the naval blockade.
Alex Croft19 September 2026 20:00
13 hours ago
Houthis say they attacked 'sensitive sites' in Riyadh with ballistic missiles
Yemen’s Houthis have claimed they attacked “sensitive sites” in Riyadh using ballistic missiles and drones.
The militant group, which is embroiled in an intensifying war with Saudi Arabian forces, said it will continue targeting the Saudi military build-ups until blockades in the Red Sea end.
It said it attacked a facility belonging to Saudi state-owned oil company Aramco in the Saudi city of Yanbu.
Alex Croft19 September 2026 19:01
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