Iran rial hits record low as Hormuz talks with US gather pace

Iran's currency fell to a new record low on Tuesday, with traders in Tehran exchanging more than 2.5 million rials to the US dollar. The slide came as Iran's top diplomat said indirect negotiations with the United States aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz had become "more serious".

The rial's latest fall came just 27 days after it hit its previous record low of 2.2 million to the dollar on September 2. The currency has repeatedly touched new lows since the war began in February, while efforts continue through mediators to end the fighting and reopen the critical waterway.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Iranian media late on Monday that the "current focus is solely on the Strait of Hormuz". He made the remarks shortly before leaving New York, where he attended last week's gathering of world leaders at the UN General Assembly, and after meeting 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." US and regional officials have confirmed to The Associated Press that mediators are working with Iran and the US to try to broker a deal to end the fighting and reopen the strait.

Meanwhile, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps' chief spokesman, Gen Hossein Mohebbi, on Tuesday called on Americans to take to the streets and protest the conflict. The day also saw the rial sink further, even as indirect talks on the Strait of Hormuz appeared to gather pace.