Updated

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met US special envoy Steve Witkoff and EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas on the sidelines of the UNGA to discuss reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has kept effectively blockaded amid the war. Araghchi conveyed Tehran's conditions, including an immediate end to the US naval blockade, the prompt release of roughly $24 billion in frozen Iranian assets, and a ceasefire tied to lifting the blockade on Houthi-controlled parts of Yemen — demands reported to be hardening rather than softening. Qatar's Emir also urged diplomacy and rejected what he called 'bargaining' over the strait's reopening. Kallas told Araghchi that navigation 'must be free and unimpeded' in both the Strait of Hormuz and Bab al-Mandab, noting there were no tolls before the war and there should be none after it. The talks reflect the strait's centrality to any eventual de-escalation, given its importance to global energy security and the economic pressure the blockade has placed on Iran.