Level 1 — Absolute Beginner

Iran and the United States are at war. The war started almost six months ago.

Iran's foreign minister is Abbas Araghchi. He says Iran does not want a short ceasefire.

Iran wants the war to end completely. Iran wants promises that fighting will not start again.

President Trump says there are no talks with Iran right now. The US Navy still blocks Iranian ports.

ceasefire

a stop to fighting

war

fighting between countries

foreign minister

a government leader who works with other countries

mediator

a person who helps two sides talk

guarantee

a strong promise

navy

the part of the military that uses ships

port

a place where ships stop

blockade

when ships are stopped from entering or leaving

Level 2 — Elementary

On Tuesday, August 18, 2026, Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said that Iran will not accept another temporary ceasefire with the United States.

Instead, Iran wants a complete and lasting end to the war, which has lasted almost six months.

Araghchi said that Iran is still talking with mediators, but Iran is not having direct talks with the United States.

President Trump said that no talks with Iran are happening now, and he said the US naval blockade on Iranian ports is still in full force.

temporary

lasting only for a short time

accept

to agree to something

lasting

continuing for a long time

mediator

someone who helps two sides communicate

direct

happening between two sides with no one in between

naval

relating to a country's navy

blockade

an action that stops ships from moving in or out

transit

a single trip through an area, like a ship crossing a strait

Level 3 — Intermediate

Speaking on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that Tehran has informed international mediators it will not accept another temporary ceasefire with the United States, insisting instead on a complete and lasting resolution to the nearly six-month war.

Araghchi emphasized that Iran views an earlier memorandum signed in Islamabad as having already represented an 'end to the war' rather than a mere ceasefire, and Tehran wants any future arrangement to carry the same weight, including guarantees that military operations will not resume.

While contacts with mediators continue, Araghchi drew a sharp distinction between exchanging messages through intermediaries and engaging in direct negotiations with Washington, which Iran is not currently pursuing.

Separately, President Trump stated that no talks with Tehran were scheduled, and confirmed that the US naval blockade on Iranian ports remains fully in effect, even as he claimed that sea mines had been cleared and that other maritime traffic could pass freely.

Adding to the tension, the head of Iran's armed forces renewed warnings to Persian Gulf states against assisting the US military, and shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz fell 19.5 percent last week, to just 95 confirmed transits.

Tehran

the capital of Iran, often used to refer to the Iranian government

intermediary

a person or group that passes messages between two sides that are not speaking directly

resolution

a formal settlement or ending of a conflict

memorandum

a written document recording an agreement or understanding

distinction

a clear difference between two things

maritime

relating to the sea or shipping

transit

a passage or crossing, such as a ship traveling through a strait

armed forces

a country's military organizations, including army, navy, and air force

Level 4 — Advanced

In remarks delivered on Tuesday, August 18, 2026, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi signaled a hardening of Tehran's negotiating posture, declaring that Iran had informed international mediators it would reject any further temporary ceasefire with the United States in favor of a comprehensive and durable resolution to a conflict now approaching its sixth month.

Central to Iran's position is its insistence that a memorandum previously signed in Islamabad already constituted, in substance, an end to hostilities rather than a mere pause, and Tehran is now demanding that any subsequent arrangement be accorded the same status, accompanied by explicit guarantees against a resumption of military operations.

Araghchi was careful to distinguish between the ongoing exchange of messages through mediators, which he confirmed is continuing, and direct bilateral negotiations with Washington, a threshold Iran has so far declined to cross.

President Trump, for his part, offered a more ambiguous picture, stating that no talks with Tehran were underway or scheduled while simultaneously asserting that the US naval blockade of Iranian ports remains fully operative, notwithstanding his claim that sea mines had been cleared and that other maritime traffic could now transit freely.

The rhetorical escalation was compounded by the commander of Iran's armed forces, who reiterated that any assistance rendered to the US military by Persian Gulf states would be construed as tantamount to joining hostilities against Iran, a warning underscored by a marked contraction in regional shipping: confirmed transits through the Strait of Hormuz fell 19.5 percent last week, to just 95 crossings.

comprehensive

complete and including everything necessary

durable

able to last a long time without weakening

hostilities

acts of warfare; armed conflict

bilateral

involving two parties directly, without intermediaries

ambiguous

open to more than one interpretation; unclear

operative

functioning or in effect

tantamount

equivalent in effect to something else

contraction

a reduction in size, amount, or activity