Updated

Seven months into the US-Iran conflict, Washington and Tehran remain locked in an uneasy stalemate. Iran says it is reviewing a US response to its seven-day proposal to end hostilities and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with officials divided over whether further negotiations are needed; Qatari mediators are pressing a peace deal while US and Iranian officials hold separate talks through intermediaries. Meanwhile President Trump says he is nearing a decision on Iran, warning of the "easy way or the hard way," as the Pentagon sends a third aircraft carrier strike group and thousands more troops toward the region and holds an unannounced Camp David security meeting, raising fears of a new major operation. The IRGC has issued defiant statements questioning US motives and appealing directly to American voters ahead of the midterms, while Foreign Minister Araghchi warned Iran would respond more forcefully to any renewed strikes and dismissed reports of diplomat expulsions. The war's economic and political fallout is spreading in the US as well: a taxpayer-funded ad celebrating Trump's war aired on Fox News, diesel export bans threaten to push global fuel prices higher, and crude exports from Hormuz have largely returned to pre-war levels via alternative routes even as refined fuel flows remain constrained. Trump has denied offering Iran sanctions relief for nuclear concessions and faced questions in a Time interview about misleading Americans on the war's length, while not ruling out declaring a state of emergency before the midterms. The Guardian is hosting a live Q&A on how the war is reshaping the US midterm elections.