Iran Signals Openness to Negotiated End as US Strikes Resume

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that Tehran remains committed to finding a negotiated solution to its conflict with the United States, even as the two countries resumed direct hostilities for the first time since late July. Speaking on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in Kyrgyzstan, Pezeshkian told India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi that "continuing the war is in no one's interest."

The comments came hours after US forces struck two Iranian missile launchers on Larak Island, a small island near the strategic Strait of Hormuz. A US official said the strike was carried out after Revolutionary Guard forces were observed preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the strait. Iran's IRNA news agency quoted the local governor as saying two people were killed and others injured in the attack.

In response, Iranian media reported strikes on two US bases in Jordan and an attack on the Al Minhad air base in the UAE. The UAE's defence ministry dismissed the claim about the air base as false, though it later confirmed its air force engaged a drone that had entered its territorial waters from Iran.

Earlier, US President Donald Trump posted an AI-generated video on his Truth Social platform showing explosions on Iran's Kharg Island, the country's main oil export hub, with the message: "Kharg Island being blown to smithereens!!!" A US official said Kharg was not targeted in the overnight strikes, and an Iranian official dismissed the post as "laughable." The National Iranian Oil Company's chief executive said conditions on the island were calm and oil operations had not stopped.

The resumption of military action follows weeks of escalating economic pressure. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said new secondary sanctions are likely to be announced weekly, with an initial focus on banks. The European Union said it would continue working with the US to maintain pressure on Tehran.

Iran's Revolutionary Guards also said they shot down a US drone over Gulf waters and reported that a supertanker struck by naval mines in the southern Strait of Hormuz had caught fire and come to a halt. The strait, which normally handles a fifth of global crude oil shipments, has been effectively blocked since the war began in late February. Oil prices rose more than 3.5% on Monday following the escalation.