An Iranian official says mediators are working to narrow the gap with Washington, but the same official puts a deal well out of reach. Speaking to Reuters on condition of anonymity, the senior official said Iran and the US are still far from agreement and that Hormuz stays closed until Iran's conditions are met.

Those conditions are large. Reuters reports that Iran's demands include waiving oil sanctions, ending the US naval blockade and releasing frozen Iranian funds. The official said Iran would reject Washington's "excessive demands" and that nuclear talks could start only after its conditions are met. On Monday Iran said it has not yet reached the stage of nuclear negotiations. On October 28 it rejected Washington's seven-day Hormuz plan as "unacceptable demands".

The remark followed a trip by Qatari mediators to Tehran on Monday night, Reuters reports. They went for talks on a version of a draft US-Iran deal that has been under discussion for eight days.

Diplomacy is running beside force, not in place of it. Trump says the US destroyed an Iranian air defence site in an overnight strike, which he called limited, and that the US will strike Iran's nuclear sites again if anyone tries to reach them. The US has also approved a Qatari-drafted memorandum. Against that, an official's talk of narrowing looks like one more verbal marker, and a move in crude on it would rest on words, not a signed framework.

An official briefed on the talks told Reuters that feedback from Washington and Tehran is expected within 36 hours, on a new mediator suggestion both sides are studying.

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