Iranian officials spent UN General Assembly week pushing for a return to an earlier understanding reached in June. That arrangement temporarily reduced hostilities and was supposed to restore navigation through the Strait of Hormuz.
The deal did not last.
Iranian forces subsequently resumed attacks on commercial shipping, and the strategically critical waterway once again became a major pressure point between Tehran and Washington.
The Strait of Hormuz remains at the center of the confrontation because of its enormous importance to international energy markets.
Against that backdrop, Trump delivered a stark warning from the United Nations on September 22, making clear that he would not accept an agreement that simply gave Iran time to rebuild its military capabilities.
Trump raised the possibility of moving to “annihilate the Islamic Republic” if Tehran refused to reach an acceptable agreement.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian responded from the UN podium the following day with an equally defiant message.
“We will never bow our head or bend at the knee,” Pezeshkian declared.
But Iran’s president simultaneously insisted that Tehran was still willing to negotiate.
“We are ready for dialogue and diplomacy and negotiations without accepting the language of force.”
Behind the scenes, diplomacy continued.
American envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner participated in indirect negotiations with Araghchi through Qatari mediators during the UN gathering. Those discussions failed to produce a final agreement, although diplomatic channels remained open.
Iran then put forward a seven-day proposal aimed at breaking the stalemate.
Under Tehran’s plan, Washington would lift its naval blockade, provide sanctions relief involving Iranian oil, free frozen Iranian assets and participate in a wider regional pause in hostilities.
Iran, in return, would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart negotiations over its controversial nuclear program.
Trump rejected the proposal.
The president argued that Tehran was attempting to secure concessions immediately while the United States held the stronger negotiating position.
Iran wanted the strait reopened “because they’re losing so badly,” Trump said, adding that the Iranian proposal “would not be acceptable.”
Trump nevertheless left the door open to another agreement.
That rejection was followed by increasingly ominous rhetoric from Tehran.
During an appearance Sunday on NBC’s Meet the Press, Araghchi made clear that Iranian officials are preparing for diplomacy and war simultaneously.
“We are fully prepared for the war to be resumed,” he said. “We stand firm in the face of any aggression against us, even if it comes to a doomsday war.”
But Araghchi insisted Iran has not abandoned negotiations.
He said Tehran was “ready to negotiate as much as we are ready to face any challenge” and explained that he was continuing diplomatic efforts “because I think we shouldn’t miss any chance for peace.”
Iran’s military is also publicly signaling that it is preparing for another confrontation.
Army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia declared that Iranian forces are “more prepared than ever before,” saying the country has improved its military readiness since the fighting began.
“If the enemy commits another act of aggression, the region will undoubtedly face even greater war, instability and violence than before,” Akraminia warned.
The threats are not limited to Iran’s conventional military.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps warned earlier in the week that another American offensive could dramatically change the scope of the conflict.
IRGC spokesperson Hossein Mohebbi claimed Iran could introduce weapons that have not previously been used while expanding the battlefield and selecting different targets.
“If a new aggression occurs, we will certainly change the weaponry and the geography of the war,” Mohebbi said.
“We will introduce new weapons with new capabilities into the battlefield, and the world will be surprised.”
He also warned that Iran possesses “new targets that have not yet been attacked.”
Those claims about undisclosed weapons have not been independently verified, but the rhetoric underscores just how dangerous the standoff has become.
Despite the escalating threats, negotiations may not be finished.
Trump told Axios on Sunday that he expects additional discussions with Iran in the coming week.
“They want to make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make,” Trump said. “It is what we would have maybe agreed to a year ago. They overplayed their hand.”
When asked whether renewed American strikes remain under consideration, Trump gave a short answer:
“I am always thinking about it.”
For now, both sides appear to be pursuing two tracks at once.
Iran is publicly preparing its military for another major confrontation while simultaneously pushing for sanctions relief and negotiations. Trump, meanwhile, is keeping diplomatic channels alive while refusing Tehran’s latest terms and leaving military action on the table.
That means the showdown is far from settled.
The next round of negotiations could determine whether Washington and Tehran find a path toward an agreement — or whether the Middle East moves closer to the “doomsday war” Iran’s foreign minister says his country is prepared to fight.
