Iran's Revolutionary Guard says it must negotiate if national interests require

The statement comes as Tehran has told Washington it will reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the US lifts the blockade it has placed there.

The statement follows word that Iran has told the Trump administration it will reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a stated timeframe, and separately that it will reopen the strait within 7 days if the United States lifts the blockade it has placed there. That blockade remains in place.

Other Iranian officials have struck a harder tone. Parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Ghalibaf said Iran will not surrender to the United States, and the Revolutionary Guard has separately threatened a wider war if the US escalates, after a tanker in the strait was hit by an unknown projectile. US and Iranian officials are preparing for talks in New York this week, and Qatar says it is working to facilitate an agreement between the two sides, pointing to the possibility of a short-term deal. President Trump said Iran "is not doing well" and that he has meetings on Iran today.

Oil prices fell about 8 per cent in pre-market trading. Boston Fed President Susan Collins cited persistent inflation and renewed Middle East conflict among her reasons for backing a 25 basis point rate rise. The Guard's statement points to a Tehran that may prefer negotiation to further escalation, in line with conditions its foreign minister and security officials have been presenting through Qatar. That is a marginally softer position than the one voiced by other Iranian officials, but it does not change the underlying picture: both sides have set out terms without visible progress toward each other, and oil and geopolitical risk pricing remain tied to whether the Trump administration's talks produce a concrete result.