CAIRO (AP) 鈥� Mediators have achieved progress in efforts to get the United States and back to negotiations and avert an all-out war in the Middle East, two regional officials said Monday, with a coming after a period of rapidly escalating tensions.
The comments came after neither the U.S. nor Iran reported carrying out any attacks for three straight days 鈥� a respite after about two weeks of sustained bombardments that had led to increasing fears of a return to all-out war.
The two regional officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive regional talks, said mediators led by and were working to bridge the gap between Washington and Tehran to return to an that had been largely undermined by recent exchanges of fire.
No strikes over weekend
attacks after targeting Iranian coastal areas and infrastructure in a nearly two-week escalation sparked by Iran鈥檚 firing at ships trying to transit the , a crucial waterway for global oil shipments. The Pentagon did not respond to questions.
U.S. President is 鈥済iving talks some space. He鈥檚 giving it a little bit of room,鈥� Mike Waltz, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, told Fox 小萝莉影视.
Waltz dismissed the idea that the U.S. stockpile of interceptors crucial in defending against Iranian attacks is running low, but experts have questioned how long both the U.S. and Iran can afford to keep up attacks.
Since the U.S. has halted attacks for the past two nights, Iran has as well, its army spokesperson told Iran鈥檚 state TV on Sunday. Tehran in recent days has counterattacked against countries in the region hosting U.S. military forces, killing at least three at a base in Jordan and one in Iraq.
Regional officials cite progress in talks
One of the regional officials who spoke to AP Monday described the progress made in mediation efforts as 鈥渟ignificant.鈥� He said mediators were working with Iran and on a mechanism for managing vessels鈥� transit through the Strait of Hormuz, the flashpoint for the latest strikes and counterstrikes.
Iran鈥檚 Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said during a news conference in Tehran Monday that mediators were conveying messages but there were no direct negotiations.
鈥淢ediators may convey messages to us from the American side regarding ongoing developments in the region. But at present, we have no negotiations with the American side,鈥� Baghaei said.
He said Iran and Oman, which lies on the other side of the Strait of Hormuz, had already held talks on Friday and Saturday on how to through the waterway.
鈥淭he objective is for Iran and Oman, as the two coastal states, to develop mechanisms to ensure safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz while respecting the sovereign rights and sovereignty of both coastal states, as well as Iran鈥檚 security and national interests鈥� Baghaei said. However, he stressed that the waterway remains closed.
Tehran has asserted that the interim deal with the U.S. allows it to manage shipping on the waterway for now, and it has objected to U.S. efforts to support a route that passes close to Oman instead. The strait was considered an international waterway before the war.
The U.S. military on Saturday said its against Iran continued, with a dozen commercial ships redirected, two disabled and two boarded. U.S. forces 鈥渞emain highly vigilant, focused, lethal, and ready,鈥� it added.
The 60-day period established by the interim deal in mid-June is now well into its second half, and major issues that were meant to be negotiated 鈥� notably at the heart of tensions 鈥� remain set aside as mediators try to keep both sides talking.
Shipping traffic on the strait is at a 3-week low
Concerns continue about shipping through another crucial waterway in the region, the to the Red Sea. Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen last week threatened a blockade of Saudi shipping there, and , setting it alight.
Global energy supplies and the economy remain in the balance as .
Commercial shipping traffic in the Strait of Hormuz was at a three-week low, a maritime body overseen by the U.S. Navy said Sunday, adding that no new attacks had been confirmed in the past 72 hours. It said traffic remained steady through the Bab el-Mandeb.
Netanyahu says he 鈥榝ully鈥� backs Trump鈥檚 efforts
Meanwhile, Israeli Prime Minister plans to travel to the United States and meet with Trump in Washington on Tuesday, his office has said. They last met in Washington in February, weeks before they on Iran that killed senior leaders including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
The Iranian-backed Hezbollah fired at Israel two days after the war began, and Israel responded with airstrikes and ground forces in southern Lebanon. Since then, the U.S. has supported landmark direct talks between Lebanon and Israel to try to calm that front and find a way to disarm Hezbollah.
Iran criticizes Ukraine for targeting ship in Caspian Sea
Separately, Baghaei slammed Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy after he said over the weekend that Ukraine had struck 鈥渧essels used in military cargo shipments involving Iran鈥� in the Caspian Sea.
On Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Ukraine鈥檚 strike on an Iranian vessel had killed a sailor.
In a statement on X, Araghchi denounced the attack as a 鈥渂latant U.N. Charter violation done at Israel鈥檚 behest to drag Europe into its war.鈥� He said he made it clear in calls with European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov that the attack 鈥渃an鈥檛 go unanswered.鈥�
Iran is an ally of Russia in its war against Ukraine, helping Moscow build up its drone expertise.
Speaking during the news conference in Tehran Monday, Baghaei said that 鈥渁ll parties that consider themselves in some way supporters of the Ukrainian regime must be held accountable.鈥�
He said Zelenskyy鈥檚 鈥渂ehavior is reminiscent of the anarchists who, on the eve of World War I, carried out theatrical and highly dangerous actions whose repercussions engulfed all of Europe.鈥�
___
Becatoros reported from Athens, Greece. Associated Press reporters Cara Anna in Lowville, New York; Darlene Superville and Ben Finley in Washington; and Jill Lawless and Emma Burrows in London contributed.
Copyright © 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.
