Iran engaged with the United States through a Qatari mediator in New York and conveyed conditions including an end to the war on all fronts and a halt to what Tehran called US “acts of aggression,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told state news agency IRNA.

Baghaei said Iran’s conditions also included an end to the naval blockade and economic warfare, and the release of Iranian assets, IRNA reported.

Shipping traffic via Strait of Hormuz stays below 10-day average, data shows

Three commodity vessels transited the Strait of Hormuz on Tuesday, down from four a day earlier and below the 10-day moving average of about 15, preliminary shipping data showed on Wednesday.

Read: Trump says US, Iran held ‘very good’ meeting, another scheduled soon

The figures may change as some ships typically switch off their transponders during the voyage.

All three vessels, including one Panamax tanker, were exiting the strait, the data from ship tracker Kpler showed at 0700 PKT.

One ballast liquefied natural gas tanker, Al Mafyar, however, reappeared inside the strait on Tuesday, after being last seen outside of the waterway on September 19, according to both Kpler and LSEG data.

The Strait of Hormuz carried a fifth of the world’s oil and gas before the US-Iran conflict.

US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday that he could annihilate Iran if there is no deal to end the war, but also suggested an agreement could come soon amid a diplomatic push at the United Nations.

Meanwhile, 22 commodity vessels transited the Bab el-Mandeb Strait on Tuesday, another maritime chokepoint on the southwest tip of Yemen and a vital trade route for oil between the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden.

The data showed 14 vessels heading towards the Red Sea and 8 towards the Gulf of Aden. They included five Panamax tankers, six Supramax vessels, four Aframax tankers, a Suezmax tanker and a very large crude carrier.

Read more: Trump says there will be a deal with Iran after the midterms

The number is compared with an average of around 26 ships using the strait in the past 10 days.

Yemeni government forces seize strategic mountain in southern Taiz

Yemeni government forces established full control on Tuesday over strategic Mount Qarfan in southern Taiz province following clashes with Houthi rebels, said a defence official.

Government forces backed by popular resistance from the sons of Bani Omar tightened their control over Mount Qarfan, said Major General Abdulaziz Al-Majidi, chief of staff of the Taiz military axis, in a statement issued by the Armed Forces Media Centre.

Majidi said the confrontations resulted in more than five Houthi fighters being killed and the injury of around 20 others, adding that the group continued launching mortar rounds against military positions.

The Houthis did not immediately comment on the territorial loss.

Mount Qarfan occupies a key position along the rugged mountain chain on the Jardad-Bani Omar front between Ash Shamaytayn and Al-Wazi’iyah districts, giving holding forces command of fire control and surveillance across the surrounding valleys.

The advance unfolded amid escalating hostilities that have shifted front lines since July following recent Houthi advances along the western coastline toward the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.

Iran’s president arrives in New York for 81st UN General Assembly

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arrived in New York to attend and address the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly, his office announced on Tuesday.

Iranian diplomatic officials, including Iran’s ambassador and deputy permanent representative to the UN, welcomed the delegation upon their arrival following their morning departure from Tehran.

Pezeshkian is expected to hold separate meetings with several participating heads of state alongside engagements with various political and cultural figures during the diplomatic summit. His formal address before the General Assembly Hall will take place on Wednesday.

The trip comes amid the ongoing war between the US and Iran and follows an announcement by the Trump administration confirming that Washington would permit a core Iranian delegation to attend the high-level week in line with host country obligations under the UN Headquarters Agreement.

The approved delegation includes Pezeshkian, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and essential diplomatic personnel, though US authorities denied entry visas to several supplementary members, including segments of the president’s media staff.

Explosion heard near Iran’s Qeshm Island in Strait of Hormuz

An explosion was heard near Qeshm Island in southern Iran’s Hormozgan province, state media reported.

The official news agency IRNA said the noise originated from the direction of the sea rather than land.

The agency said that no rockets or missiles struck the island, while local authorities have not issued a formal statement explaining the exact source or nature of the blast.

Qeshm Island, situated within the strategic Strait of Hormuz, is the largest island in the Gulf.

The incident coincides with persistent maritime and military friction in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy transit chokepoint that has served as a central theatre throughout the Iran war.