Iran says response to U.S. proposals will go through intermediaries

Baqaei's statement adds another step to a weeks-long cycle that has yet to produce a signed agreement.

Iran's foreign ministry spokesman Baqaei said Tehran will deliver its response to U.S. proposals through intermediaries rather than direct contact.

The route keeps in place the same sequencing dispute that has surrounded the Strait of Hormuz and the blockade since late September. Iran has said it will soon block illegal routes through the strait and can raise its missile range as the battlefield requires, a pledge an adviser to the Revolutionary Guards commander has repeated. Tanker traffic through the strait has been running near a standstill for weeks.

The exchange comes as two administration officials say Pentagon strike options are being framed around the midterm election calendar rather than around the diplomacy itself. The White House has asked the Pentagon for options on possible strikes on Iran, with size and targets undetermined. Secretary of State Rubio has said Iran must not be allowed a nuclear program, without setting new steps or a timeline, and Vice President Vance has said Tehran cannot claim it does not want a nuclear weapon while enriching uranium to 60%, also without a timeline or mechanism for a cutback. Iran's president Pezeshkian has said the country is in an 'all-out war' and vowed to 'resist,' and Iran's army has said it is ready to strike first if threatened.

Prior rounds of this pattern have seen officials call the odds of a deal 'extremely slim,' and seen Trump contradict his own negotiators within hours of claims of progress. A promised response carries little weight until its substance is known, and Wednesday's statement neither confirms nor breaks the stalemate that has kept the Hormuz-linked risk premium embedded in crude since late September.