New York, 29 September, 2026 (Kamran Raja): US and Iranian officials held separate discussions with mediators on Monday as part of renewed diplomatic efforts to end seven months of war, according to officials from both countries. A source briefed on the negotiations said further talks are expected to focus on an amended version of a seven-day ceasefire proposal presented by Iran last week on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly. The conflict began in late February with US and Israeli attacks on Iran and has continued for seven months, causing thousands of deaths and disrupting global markets as key waterways for oil shipments remained affected. The United States and Iran have previously reached two ceasefire agreements through mediated talks in April and June, but both arrangements later broke down. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who remained in New York after attending the General Assembly, said Tehran was awaiting Washington’s response to its latest ceasefire proposal and its conditions for restoring maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Iran’s seven-day plan calls for an end to hostilities in Iran and Lebanon, the unfreezing of Iranian assets, an end to sanctions on Iranian oil and the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports, in return for reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme. US President Donald Trump said he had rejected Iran’s proposal but indicated that American negotiators could hold further talks with Iranian representatives through mediators during the week. Araghchi said Iran had not formally received a US rejection and was awaiting Washington’s definitive position before deciding its next steps. He added that any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz would depend on Iran’s stated conditions and that a negotiated solution was necessary to resolve the dispute.