Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said he is counting on talks in Oman to pull his country out of what he called a state of "neither war nor peace" with the United States, telling state media that "the fighting cannot continue forever" and that Tehran must find a diplomatic path forward. Pezeshkian said his government discusses daily how to manage the process and called on Washington to abandon what he described as an atmosphere of distrust it has created.
Tehran's conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz are specific: the United States must lift sanctions and pay compensation for damages caused during the war. Pezeshkian said Iran is committed to the memorandum of understanding reached with Washington as the basis for any settlement, but accused the U.S. side of violating the Hormuz clause in that document. "The American side violated the Strait of Hormuz clause in the memorandum of understanding, and we responded accordingly," he said.
Despite that accusation, Pezeshkian held out the prospect of a deal. "The United States is not trustworthy, but we are seeking to find a diplomatic way forward," he said, adding that Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei had approved negotiations and dialogue as a means of resolving the standoff. Pezeshkian also rejected reports that he and Khamenei had been unable to work together, calling those accounts false.
U.S. Vice President JD Vance confirmed that Washington is in direct contact with Tehran. Speaking in a Fox News interview, Vance said the administration is applying diplomatic, economic and military pressure simultaneously. "We're talking to the Iranians, of course," Vance said. "We're trying to maximize the amount of oil and gas that is coming out of the Strait of Hormuz."
Vance described the military campaign against Iran in stark terms, saying the U.S. had "destroyed their nuclear program," "destroyed their conventional military" and "radically reduced their asymmetric military abilities." He said Washington is now testing whether Tehran is prepared to make long-term changes sufficient for a better relationship. "If not, that's fine too," Vance said. "We're just going to keep on applying the pressure."
The diplomatic exchanges are unfolding as violence in the strait continues. The UAE's state news agency reported that a vessel operated by ADNOC, the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, was struck by a missile while transiting the Strait of Hormuz. The UAE Foreign Ministry condemned the attack as a violation of a U.N. Security Council resolution on freedom of navigation and accused Iran's Islamic new Guard Corps of an act of piracy.
Abu Dhabi called the use of the strait "as a tool for pressure or economic blackmail" a direct threat to regional stability and global energy security, and demanded Iran halt the attacks and fully reopen the waterway without conditions. Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Jordan all issued separate condemnations of the strike on the ADNOC vessel.
The attack on the tanker came alongside a separate Iranian warning directed at Riyadh. Tehran told Saudi Arabia that its defense pact with Turkey and Pakistan cannot guarantee its security. The warning followed an exchange of strikes involving the Houthis, the Iran-backed armed movement in Yemen.
Vance offered a pointed assessment of Saudi Arabia's role in Yemen, accusing Riyadh of imposing an economic and aerial blockade on Houthi-controlled territory that he called "the world's worst man-made humanitarian crisis." He said that characterization alone compelled the U.S. to act with determination. Vance also alleged that Houthi strikes against Saudi targets earlier this week were defensive in nature, claiming Riyadh had been preparing a ground push into rebel-held areas—a claim Saudi officials have not publicly addressed.
The Strait of Hormuz carries roughly 20 percent of the world's seaborne oil and is the main export route for Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Iraq. Any sustained closure or disruption would affect energy supplies across Asia, Europe and beyond. Tehran's explicit linkage of sanctions relief and war compensation to a reopening formula sets a high bar for the Oman-mediated talks.
Pezeshkian said he hopes talks through Oman, which has historically served as a back channel between Washington and Tehran, will produce results. He framed the current moment as one his government cannot afford to let pass. "Ultimately, it has to end," he said of the conflict, while stopping short of specifying a timeline or a date for any next round of negotiations in Muscat.
