Iranian officials said on Wednesday that Tehran had received an official United States response to its latest proposal on ending the seven-month war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. They did not disclose what the response said, or whether it amounted to a rejection.

According to the Associated Press, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi presented the reply to President Masoud Pezeshkian at a cabinet meeting. Araghchi had returned from the United Nations General Assembly, where Iranian officials held indirect contacts with US officials and met Qatari and Pakistani mediators.

Iran's proposal offered to reopen Hormuz within a week if Washington lifted its blockade of Iranian ports, released frozen Iranian assets and waived sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions. Donald Trump publicly rejected that offer days earlier, calling it unacceptable.

The fact that a reply has been delivered is not evidence of an agreement. AP reported that mediators were still working with both sides, while the US Treasury announced fresh sanctions aimed at people and companies it accused of facilitating Iran's military supply chain.

For shipping, energy markets and regional governments, the key unanswered question is whether the response opens a sequence that both sides can implement. Until its terms are known, the most that can be said is that communication has continued while the conflict and economic pressure on both sides persist.