Iran renews call for negotiated end to war after fresh strikes reignite conflict with US

Iran’s president said Monday the country remains committed to seeking a negotiated resolution to its conflict with the United States, a day after fighting resumed for the first time since late July and sent oil prices climbing more than 3.5 percent.

President Masoud Pezeshkian’s comments came shortly after President Donald Trump posted an AI generated video clip claiming to show Iran’s key oil hub, Kharg Island, being destroyed. No evidence emerged to support any such attack, and a US official said Monday the military had not targeted Kharg Island during overnight strikes. An Iranian official dismissed Trump’s post as laughable.

US forces struck two Iranian missile launchers on Iran’s Larak Island, located roughly 660 kilometers east of Kharg, on Sunday, according to a US official, prompting Iran to strike two American bases in Jordan, according to Iranian media reports. Iran’s IRNA news agency quoted the local governor as saying two people died and others were injured in the strike on Larak Island.

The renewed fighting followed several weeks in which the Trump administration had shifted focus toward punishing Tehran and its business partners through costly economic sanctions rather than military action, even as diplomatic efforts remained stalled. Speaking with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of a regional security meeting in Kyrgyzstan, Pezeshkian accused Washington of failing to honor its commitments under previous agreements.

Iran’s semi official Tasnim news agency quoted Pezeshkian as saying Iran continues trying to reach an agreement and mutual understanding, arguing that continuing the war serves no one’s interest, not Iran’s, not the region’s, and not humanity’s. He said the solution to the current standoff lies in dialogue and cooperation, and that every available means must be used to prevent the further spread of insecurity and conflict.

Trump had earlier angered Iranian officials by posting the AI generated clip on his Truth Social platform, captioning it with a message claiming Kharg Island had been blown to smithereens. A news agency confirmed using detection software that the video was most likely synthetically generated. Neither the White House nor the US Defense Department responded to requests for comment outside normal business hours.

Kharg Island handled 90 percent of Iran’s oil exports before the war launched by US and Israeli strikes on February 28, and any actual attack on the facility would severely disrupt global energy trade while placing enormous pressure on Iran’s economy. Hamid Bovard, chief executive of the government run National Iranian Oil Company, said Monday that Trump’s social media posts were laughable and that conditions at Kharg remained calm and normal. Bovard said oil operations have continued without interruption, with workers actively repairing earlier damage and modernizing facilities, according to comments carried by a semi official outlet close to Iran’s top security body.

A US official said forces struck the launchers on Larak Island Sunday after observing Revolutionary Guard Corps personnel preparing to launch rockets carrying sea mines into the Strait of Hormuz. Larak is a small island situated in the strait near the strategic Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. The Strait of Hormuz, which typically carries about a fifth of global crude oil shipments, has remained effectively blocked since the war began. US Central Command said in a statement that it had taken limited, precise action against Iranian minelaying forces that posed an imminent threat within the strait, though it offered no further details.

Beyond the strikes on Jordan, Iran’s army said it also struck the Al Minhad air base in the United Arab Emirates early Monday, though the UAE’s defense ministry dismissed that claim as false. The UAE ministry later said its air force had engaged a drone that entered its territorial waters from Iran, though it did not specify whether the drone was shot down or provide additional details. Iran’s foreign ministry said the strikes on Jordan targeted US bases used to launch and support the attack on Larak.

Iran’s Mehr news agency reported Monday that the Revolutionary Guards used air defense missiles to shoot down a US drone that subsequently crashed into Gulf waters, citing a statement from the elite force. Iranian state television, citing a Guards statement, also reported that a supertanker caught fire and came to a complete stop after being struck by two naval mines in the southern Strait of Hormuz.

Trump has yet to achieve any of the objectives he set at the outset of the conflict, including dismantling Iran’s nuclear program, limiting its capacity to strike regional rivals, and creating conditions that might lead Iranians to overthrow their clerical leadership. US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Sunday that Washington likely plans to unveil new secondary sanctions on a weekly basis as part of its pressure campaign against Iran, with initial measures focused on the banking sector. The European Union said Monday it would continue coordinating with the United States and other partners to maintain economic pressure on Tehran.

According to the statement cited by state television, the Revolutionary Guards said the supertanker damaged by mines had been attempting to pass through the strait illegally, though officials provided no details identifying the vessel or its crew. Trump said last week that all mines had been either detonated or removed from international waters within the strait, warning that any vessel found placing new mines would be destroyed. Iranian officials have denied Trump’s assertion regarding the mines.