Level 1 — Absolute Beginner

Iran and the United States are in a war. It started in February. On Sunday, Iran said no to new talks about its nuclear programme. Iran wants other things first.

There is an important sea road near Iran. It is called the Strait of Hormuz. Many ships carry oil through it. Now the ships cannot pass safely. Iran has seven conditions. The sea road opens only if the conditions are met.

President Donald Trump says his country has already hit Iran's nuclear sites. He says one or two sites are left. Marco Rubio is the top American diplomat. He says the president has not made a decision. He says America wants peace first.

Qatar and Pakistan want to help. Their diplomats met Iranian officials in Doha on Saturday. Americans vote on Tuesday. Many people think Washington will wait until after the vote.

war

A fight between two countries or groups using weapons.

nuclear

Connected with the energy inside atoms, which can make electricity or a bomb.

strait

A narrow line of sea between two pieces of land.

oil

A thick liquid from under the ground that is used to make fuel.

condition

Something you must do first before someone agrees.

diplomat

A person whose job is to talk with other countries for their government.

decision

A choice you make after thinking.

vote

To choose a leader by marking a paper or a machine.

Level 2 — Elementary

Iran closed the door on nuclear negotiations again on Sunday 1 November. Iranian officials said there are no plans to sit down with American officials until Tehran's own demands are accepted. The war between the two sides began at the end of February and has never fully stopped.

The centre of the argument is the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow stretch of water at the mouth of the Gulf. A large share of the world's oil normally travels through it. Mohsen Rezaei, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said the strait cannot reopen unless seven Iranian conditions are met. Iran wants an American naval blockade lifted, frozen money released and permission to sell its oil again.

There is still a diplomatic channel. Vice President JD Vance sent Rezaei a letter, and Rezaei said he had read it but had not replied. On Saturday he told Iranian state television, "We are now waiting for the Americans' response." Qatari and Pakistani mediators met an Iranian delegation in Doha the same day.

On the American side the language was harder. On Saturday President Donald Trump told reporters that his country had already destroyed Iran's nuclear facilities and that "one or two sites" remained. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the president had not yet made a decision about new strikes, adding, "But we would prefer to do it peacefully." Americans vote in midterm elections on Tuesday 3 November.

negotiation

A formal discussion in which two sides try to reach an agreement.

demand

Something one side insists on getting.

blockade

The use of ships or soldiers to stop goods going in or out of a place.

mediator

A person or country that helps two enemies talk to each other.

delegation

A small group sent to represent a country at a meeting.

facility

A building or site built for a particular purpose.

strike

A sudden military attack, often from the air.

midterm election

An American election held halfway through a president's four-year term.

Level 3 — Intermediate

Two days before American voters go to the polls, the war between Iran and the United States has settled into an uncomfortable pause that neither side is willing to call peace. Iranian officials said on Sunday 1 November that there are no plans for nuclear negotiations while their conditions remain unmet, a position that leaves mediators holding messages nobody has answered. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had already told Al Jazeera on Saturday, "Currently, there are no plans for meetings with American officials."

The hard currency of the dispute is the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow channel through which a large share of the world's seaborne oil normally moves. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said the strait cannot reopen until seven Iranian conditions are satisfied, among them the lifting of the American naval blockade, the release of frozen assets and the right to export oil. Araghchi suggested a mediator proposal could reopen the waterway within two days, which is a reminder that the closure is a bargaining position rather than an accident. United States Central Command said on Saturday that the blockade had redirected 144 vessels, up from 138 two weeks earlier.

Diplomacy has not died, it has simply slowed to the speed of couriers. Vice President JD Vance wrote to Rezaei, reportedly at the president's direction, and Rezaei said he had read the letter without answering it, remarking that "the tone of the letter has completely changed." Qatari and Pakistani mediators met an Iranian delegation in Doha on Saturday, and Qatari officials had spent hours in Tehran two days before that. Rezaei also insisted that "no new decision has been made regarding changes to the nuclear doctrine," pushing back on speculation that Iran might abandon its stated nuclear limits.

Washington's public posture mixes threat with patience. President Donald Trump told reporters in Florida on Saturday that American forces had knocked out Iran's nuclear programme and that one or two sites remained, which, he said, "we can do that in 10 minutes." Secretary of State Marco Rubio, speaking at a G20 press conference in Atlanta, said the president "hasn't made a decision" and added, "But we would prefer to do it peacefully." An Iranian army spokesman, Mohammad Akraminia, warned on Sunday that a new war could last longer than the previous round of fighting, a claim that costs nothing to make and that nobody in the region wants tested.

pause

A temporary stop in an activity that is expected to continue.

unmet

Not yet satisfied or fulfilled.

seaborne

Carried by ship across the sea.

bargaining position

An advantage held deliberately so it can be traded away in a negotiation.

redirect

To send something along a different route.

courier

A person who carries messages or packages from one place to another.

Level 4 — Advanced

A war that has not ended and a negotiation that has not begun now share the same calendar. On Sunday 1 November, Iranian officials ruled out nuclear talks for as long as their conditions go unmet, a refusal delivered not as a door slammed but as a bill presented. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had set it out plainly the previous day, telling Al Jazeera, "Currently, there are no plans for meetings with American officials." Two days before American voters cast midterm ballots, the diplomatic traffic between Tehran and Washington consists largely of letters whose recipients decline to answer them.

The leverage in this standoff is geographic. The Strait of Hormuz, through which a substantial share of the world's seaborne crude normally passes, remains effectively closed, and Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, has priced its reopening at seven Iranian conditions: the lifting of the American naval blockade, the release of frozen assets and the restoration of oil exports among them. That Araghchi could suggest a mediator proposal might reopen the waterway within two days is the clearest evidence that the blockage is a lever rather than a casualty. United States Central Command reported on Saturday that the blockade had redirected 144 vessels, against 138 a fortnight earlier, a slow accretion that measures economic pressure more accurately than any speech.

What remains of diplomacy moves at the pace of intermediaries. Vice President JD Vance wrote to Rezaei, reportedly at the president's instruction, and Rezaei acknowledged reading the letter while pointedly leaving it unanswered, observing that "the tone of the letter has completely changed." Qatari and Pakistani mediators convened with an Iranian delegation in Doha on Saturday, following hours of Qatari meetings in Tehran two days earlier. Rezaei was careful to close off one line of speculation, insisting that "no new decision has been made regarding changes to the nuclear doctrine," a formulation that preserves ambiguity while denying escalation, which is precisely what such formulations are for.

Washington's own signalling is deliberately double-edged. President Donald Trump, speaking to reporters in Florida on Saturday, claimed the United States had already dismantled Iran's nuclear programme and that only one or two sites remained, which, he said, "we can do that in 10 minutes." Secretary of State Marco Rubio, at a G20 press conference in Atlanta, declined to confirm any plan: the president "hasn't made a decision," he said, adding, "But we would prefer to do it peacefully." From Tehran, an army spokesman named Mohammad Akraminia warned on Sunday that renewed fighting could outlast the earlier campaign. Each side is now making statements calibrated less for the other capital than for an audience that votes on Tuesday, and the strait will stay shut until one of them decides that waiting has become more expensive than conceding.

leverage

The power to influence someone because you control something they need.