Iran says US went from demanding surrender to seeking talks as oil price rises

Iran says US went from demanding surrender to seeking talks as oil price rises Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran has proved itself “a tough and invincible power” by resisting the US and Israel, as collapsing shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz pushes oil prices higher. “I have heard this many times from foreign ministers and officials from other countries: ‘You Iranians created a miracle; you surprised the whole world,’” Araghchi told a televised news conference covered by the semi-official Tasnim news agency on Tuesday. “No one thought that Iran could resist America like this,” he said, noting that Washington entered the war with Israeli, western and other international support.

“The US president wrote two words [on social media] at the beginning of the war: ‘Unconditional surrender’,” Araghchi said. “That was what they wanted from us and, 20 days later, the same enemy was begging for negotiations.” Araghchi's bullish comments were tempered by Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who warned on Tuesday that the Middle East could not remain trapped between "neither war nor peace". (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); “The goal is to transition to sustainable stability governed by clear and shared rules,” Gargash wrote on X.

The veteran Emirati official said the next phase of an agreement between Iran and the US could not rest on “shaky foundations or arrangements detached from international law”. Gargash called for a regional settlement based on “peaceful coexistence, respect for sovereignty, and the logic of peace”, as US-Iranian talks remain stalled and both sides warn that fighting could resume. The war on Iran also continues to choke the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most important trade routes.

A sculpture overlooking the Strait of Hormuz is seen along the seafront in the port city of Bandar Abbas, in southern Iran on 10 August 2026 (Atta Kenare/AFP) Only six vessels crossed the Strait of Hormuz on Monday, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters, down from a 10-day average of about 11. Before the war, between 130 and 140 shi…