TEHRAN, SEP 30: Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian media late on Monday that the “current focus is solely on the Strait of Hormuz,” the chokepoint of the war.

Araghchi made the comments shortly before departing New York — where he attended last week’s gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly — and after meeting with Pakistani and Qatari mediators.

Araghchi said the Qatari intermediaries were expected to soon engage with the US side.

“They are set to raise the matter with the American side once more, after which the final US response will be conveyed to us,” Araghchi said. “If there is a response, the Qataris will convey it to us and a decision will be made in Tehran on that basis.”

Officials, including from the US, have confirmed to The Associated Press that mediators are working with Iran and the US on trying to broker a deal to end the fighting and open the strait.

The mediation efforts continue even after US President Donald Trump earlier this week spurned an Iranian proposal to reopen the strait in seven days if the US agreed to lift its blockade of Iranian ports, release frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions.

Tensions in the Strait of Hormuz were underscored by a report Tuesday that a cargo vessel was struck by an “unknown projectile” while moving through the strait on Monday. The United Kingdom Maritime Trade Operations said it had received a delayed report from a third party.