Trump Shows Openness to Engaging with Tehran
Entry of Iranian official into Austria blocked; exemption from sanctions denied
Translated by Qiyas from الراي — Original source
Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization chief, Mohammad Eslami, was barred from entering Austria to attend the International Atomic Energy Agency’s General Conference, after the United States refused to grant him a sanctions exemption that would have enabled him to obtain a visa. Meanwhile, Donald Trump reiterated his “openness” to engaging with Iran in an effort to bring the war to an end.
On the Gulf front, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Al Busaidi clarified that the Salalah meeting, scheduled for Monday between Iran and other Gulf states, had been postponed “to ensure consensus,” reaffirming Oman’s continued commitment to enhancing dialogue that supports stability and permanent cooperation in the region.
In Washington, the US President wrote on his Truth Social platform that “the failed Iranian nation wants to reach an agreement, quickly and urgently. I will decide whether the United States will choose to engage in that or not, an issue to which we are open.”
He added that “oil is flowing through the Strait of Hormuz. Countries around the world that have provided us with no assistance will be obligated and will be required to compensate the United States for its losses when this conflict ends.”
He stressed, “We do so for others far more than we do for ourselves, and that is what we have been doing for generations!”
In Vienna, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright confirmed that Washington had rejected Eslami’s request for a sanctions exemption to obtain a visa to enter Austria.
He stated that “he is a person listed on the sanctions list, and we do not want people listed on sanctions lists to circumvent their sanctions. The request for a sanctions exemption was denied.”
Iranian television reported that “Mohammad Eslami and his delegation boarded a regular flight to Vienna on Saturday, but were intercepted en route due to obstacles placed by the United States,” noting that the Iranian official returned to Tehran on the same day.
While Tehran summoned the Austrian chargé d’affaires, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei stated that Vienna’s refusal “to issue visas to the Iranian delegation was a decision with absolutely no justification.”
He added, “It is clear to us that this incident occurred under US pressure, but that does not absolve the Austrian government of responsibility.”
Baghaei, for his part, said that reports regarding activities at “Mount Fasa” are “baseless,” following US President Donald Trump’s remarks that the United States is monitoring activities at the site and urging Tehran to exercise caution.
Eslami was expected to attend the IAEA headquarters to participate in the annual General Conference on nuclear energy, which runs until Friday.
In a separate development, the US Energy Secretary stated that the seven-day moving average of secret oil shipments escorted by the US Navy through the Strait of Hormuz is “rising and will continue to increase.”
He added that the peak of shipments, which he had previously noted on September 1 as reaching 17 million barrels in a single day, was actually higher; he clarified, “There was one ship that was not accounted for, and it turned out that the volume that day was approximately 18 million barrels exactly.”
Preliminary data from ship-tracking services on Monday showed that the number of cargo vessels transiting the Strait of Hormuz dropped to fewer than 10 ships at the start of the week, significantly below the 10-day average of 14 vessels.
