Mediators see progress in efforts to halt Iran war as drone attacks underscore tensions

CAIRO (AP) — Mediators have achieved progress in getting the United States and Iran back to negotiations, regional officials said Monday, after both sides paused attacks following a period of rapidly escalating tensions. But scattered attacks by armed groups across the region underscored the lingering tensions.

Saudi Arabia said it had shot down drones fired by Iran-backed militias in Iraq that had targeted its petroleum facilities. Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen meanwhile claimed to have attacked Saudi oil facilities as part of a separate but related conflict.

Two drone attacks were reported against a Kurdish Iranian dissident group in Iraq, and Jordan said it had shot down two drones, without saying where they originated.

One of the regional officials who spoke to AP on Monday described the progress made in mediation efforts as 'significant.' He said mediators were working with Iran and Oman on a mechanism for managing vessels' transit through the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Esmail Baghaei, said during a news conference in Tehran on Monday that 'mediators may convey messages to us from the American side' but that there were no direct negotiations.

'This is not in our DNA.'

He said Iran and Oman had already held talks on Friday and Saturday on how to manage ship traffic through the waterway.

Tehran has asserted that the interim deal with the U.S. allows it to manage shipping on the waterway and potentially charge fees.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he plans to meet with Trump in Washington on Tuesday.