Iran's supreme leader gives government powers to negotiate with US over war

Tehran's new negotiating powers

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday, 2 November, that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had given the government "certain powers" in the effort to end the war with the United States, according to the official news agency IRNA. He did not specify what those powers were. Speaking to governors and mayors about improving living conditions for the population, Pezeshkian said Iran would stand firm against what he called lies and excessive demands from its enemies. He presented dialogue as the route for resolving the dispute.

“We are striving to resolve the issue through dialogue.”

Mediators and the Strait of Hormuz

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told IRNA that consultations with Washington, carried out through mediators, were very intense. He credited Qatar and Pakistan with a very active mediating role. According to Araghchi, Iran is working toward a possible agreement that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart negotiations with the United States. He said that if Washington accepted Iran's terms, the strait would open again and the talks would resume. The most recent proposal Tehran has discussed publicly would reopen the strait to navigation within two days if Washington met several conditions, including lifting its blockade of Iranian ports.

Timeline of the war and talks

The war began on 28 February, when the United States and Israel attacked the Islamic Republic. Donald Trump rejected Iran's conditions for talks in September, and Tehran has kept those conditions, according to RTBF. Earlier on Monday, 2 November, Iran's diplomacy spokesman Esmaïl Baghaï said that everything now depends on Washington. The chart below marks the dated milestones in the reporting.

Oil prices

Brent crude fell 6% to $106 a barrel after the statements and related press reports, according to RTBF. Before the war began, Brent traded at around $70 a barrel. The price drop gave markets a respite while Tehran's conditions remained in place. The figures show the price is still well above its pre-war level.

Military pressure and outside contacts

The Wall Street Journal reported in late October that Vice President JD Vance had written to Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, to try to restart negotiations and avoid new US strikes. According to the same reporting, Vance was assessing whether the two sides could find enough common ground to persuade Trump not to order a short, intense attack on Iran in the coming weeks. On Monday, 2 November, Rezaei spoke by phone with Russian President Vladimir Putin about the situation in the Middle East, Iranian state media reported. Fears of a new offensive against Iran after the midterm elections on Tuesday, 3 November, were reported across the Middle East, according to AP.