The first indirect US-Iran talks in months have raised hopes of progress toward ending the Middle East war, although neither side announced a change in its position. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi communicated through Qatari mediators with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, marking the first such contact since an interim ceasefire collapsed in July. US President Donald Trump said the meeting with mediators was productive and that momentum for a deal appeared to be building. Iran said its conditions included ending the war on all fronts and stopping US acts of aggression. The diplomatic opening helped keep Brent crude near a two-week low, just below $100 a barrel, but energy markets remain under pressure from disruptions around the Strait of Hormuz (a major oil shipping corridor) and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. The nearly seven-month war has killed thousands, disrupted energy supplies and spread from Lebanon to Yemen. A June interim agreement involving sanctions relief and unfrozen Iranian assets collapsed over shipping rules in the Strait of Hormuz, while Washington has since blockaded Iranian ports and Iran says it will keep the strait closed until the blockade ends.