Qatar mediated lengthy indirect U.S.-Iran discussions on September 22 on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, while Iran reviewed Washington’s response to a proposal to end hostilities. The talks included reopening the Strait of Hormuz and lifting the U.S. naval blockade, which Iranian officials identified as priorities alongside a permanent end to hostilities. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani urged diplomacy, restored maritime navigation and a regional collective-security system. The contacts followed the conflict’s February 28 start, June negotiations based on a bilateral memorandum of understanding and continued strikes on military, government, infrastructure and maritime targets. UKMTO reported that an unknown projectile struck a vessel in the strait, leaving it on fire and adrift after its crew was evacuated and two casualties were reported. Accounts of the U.S. contact shifted from President Donald Trump’s initial description of a direct three-hour meeting to later confirmations by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff that mediators had shuttled between the sides.