Iran says US tone has 'completely changed' as Rubio says Trump yet to decide on new strikes

Iran's top security official said on Saturday that the tone of Washington's latest message to Tehran had "completely changed", hours after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said President Donald Trump had not yet decided whether to resume military action against Iran. The two statements came as an Iranian delegation held talks with Qatari mediators in Doha, three days before the US midterm elections on Tuesday, 3 November.

Neither side announced a breakthrough. Iran's foreign minister said Tehran saw no need to meet American officials "at this stage", while Rubio said the United States would be open to a diplomatic solution but would not describe the progress of the talks or give any timeframe. The Strait of Hormuz, through which a large share of the world's oil and gas normally passes, remains largely shut, and oil prices rose for a fourth straight month in October.

What happened

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on state television on Saturday evening that he had read a letter sent by US Vice President JD Vance but had not yet replied. "Their tone has completely changed, and this is a very good sign," he said, according to Iran's state broadcaster Press TV. Israel Hayom, which also reported the interview, quoted him as saying the change showed "the victory of the Iranian people".

Rezaei said no new decision had been taken on Iran's nuclear doctrine, but confirmed that there was an internal debate over whether to change it if the war resumed, Press TV reported. He said the Strait of Hormuz was unlikely to reopen unless Iran's conditions were met. According to Press TV, Iran has set out seven conditions, including an end to hostilities on all fronts, the release of frozen Iranian assets and the lifting of the US naval blockade.

Earlier in the day, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera that Tehran had studied the Vance letter and regarded the US outreach as "a positive step". He said an aide of his was in Qatar to continue consultations with the mediators. But he dismissed reports of a planned meeting with US officials as media speculation, and said Iran saw "no need to meet with the Americans at this stage".

Al Jazeera reported that the talks with Qatari mediators had shortened Iran's proposed window for reopening the strait from five days to two once a deal is reached. Iran is seeking the restoration of waivers that allowed it to sell oil and the release of frozen funds, including about $6 billion held in Qatar, according to the same report. None of these terms has been confirmed by Qatar or the United States.

In Atlanta, where he was hosting G20 foreign ministers, Rubio told a press conference that Trump "hasn't made a decision" on further strikes, according to Asharq Al-Awsat and WION. "I have no announcement in that regard with you today," he said, adding that the US could achieve its military objectives if it chose to. He accused Iran of "actively and openly" targeting commercial vessels. "If there is a diplomatic solution, we would be open to it," he said. The State Department had not published a transcript of the remarks by early Sunday, India time.

Background

The conflict began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran in late February 2026. Since then, Iran has restricted shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, and the United States has imposed a naval blockade. The UK Maritime Trade Operations centre (UKMTO), which monitors shipping in the region, said in a weekly update reported by Iran International that traffic through the strait was about 70% below pre-conflict levels in the week to 30 October, with 122 outbound and 155 inbound transits. It has recorded 88 incidents since 28 February and rates the threat as "severe".

Earlier this week Vance wrote to Rezaei in an attempt to revive talks, and Qatari and Pakistani mediators have been shuttling between Tehran and Doha. On Friday, Qatari officials held more than 12 hours of talks in Tehran and flew back to Doha with Iran's negotiating team, Axios reported.

The diplomacy is running alongside sharp warnings. On Saturday Iran's Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, ordered the armed forces to answer any attack with a "geographically unrestricted response". Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) Navy has said four tankers caught fire or exploded on Friday while using what it called "unauthorised routes" through the strait, one of them after hitting a mine. Reuters said it could not verify the claim, and UKMTO has confirmed only separate projectile strikes in which crews were safe. The IRGC also said it had shot down a US drone over Qeshm island and destroyed a US unmanned vessel; the US military's Central Command denied the claim about the vessel, gCaptain reported.

What it means for India

India imports most of the crude oil it uses, and a large share of its oil and cooking-gas imports from the Gulf normally passes through Hormuz, so the strait's closure raises the country's import bill and puts pressure on the rupee. On Friday the expiring December Brent contract settled at $117.64 a barrel, up 2.4%, and the more active January contract at $113.43, while US West Texas Intermediate crude closed at $104.12, according to Reuters. Brent gained 13.6% over the month. Markets are closed for the weekend, so Saturday's statements will first be tested when trading resumes on Monday.

Indian seafarers are also exposed. On 29 October the Panama-flagged tanker Louise 1, with 27 Indians on board, was damaged by limpet mines about 25 nautical miles north-east of Khasab, and two more Indians were aboard a second tanker attacked the same day. Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said all of them were safe. India's Ministry of External Affairs had issued no new statement on the talks by early Sunday.

What happens next

The next few days are crowded. US voters go to the polls on Tuesday, and MS NOW, a US network, has reported, citing unnamed Gulf officials, that the administration told allies to prepare for a short round of fighting that could begin as early as 4 November. The White House has not confirmed that report, and Rubio said on Saturday that no decision had been made.

Rezaei's reply to the Vance letter, and whether US officials travel to Doha, will be the clearest signals of which way things are moving. Iran says the strait will stay closed until its conditions are met; the United States says it wants nuclear concessions first.

Key numbers

• 70%: drop in Hormuz traffic from pre-conflict levels, week to 30 October (UKMTO)
• 88: shipping incidents recorded since 28 February (UKMTO)
• $113.43: Brent January contract settlement, Friday (Reuters)
• $6 billion: Iranian funds held in Qatar that Tehran wants released (Al Jazeera)
• 3 November: US midterm elections