Diplomacy holds on amid attack warning

Iran has issued a stern warning against potential US military strikes, vowing to retaliate "without limitations" should Washington launch such attacks, as the seven-month standoff has grown into a multifront regional crisis.

In a statement, Iran's central command also said on Monday that the regional countries supporting the United States against Iran would be considered parties to the conflict.

Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf said his country must pursue both military action and negotiations.

"We believe that the duality of war or negotiation is not real, but that we must both fight and negotiate," he said.

Diplomatic prospects have recently surfaced, with US President Donald Trump signaling openness to a face-to-face meeting with Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of this week's United Nations General Assembly in New York, after Tehran submitted negotiation terms via regional mediators.

In a further development, Iranian lawmakers have presented a bill seeking the country's withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The proposal awaits review and approval by Ghalibaf to trigger parliamentary debates, Press TV reported.

Mohsen Rezaei, Iran's security chief, clarified to Al Jazeera on Saturday that the country's nuclear doctrine has not changed. "This depends on America's conduct," he said.

In a post on X, Mike Waltz, US ambassador to the UN, said the door is still open for Iran to return to the negotiating table "if they do so in good faith". Meanwhile, the ongoing conflict has cost the Trump administration an estimated $45.1 billion, according to a Pentagon estimate.

Amid easing diplomatic tensions, global crude prices retreated slightly on Monday, yet stayed at historically high levels, with Brent crude futures steady at $103 per barrel.

Iran has been at war with the US since late February. The US-Israeli strikes sparked Tehran's retaliation in blocking the Strait of Hormuz — causing global oil prices to surge — as the conflict spreads across the region.

Iran's economy has borne severe fallout ever since, with its GDP shrinking by 10.1 percent year-on-year from late March to late June, a period known as the first quarter of the Persian calendar, the Statistical Center of Iran said on Sunday.

'Sources of discord'

Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani said on Sunday that the Middle East must "eliminate sources of discord" so "no state can impose danger on others".

In recent months, the region has witnessed an "earthquake" and the repercussions have put "the assumptions of security and stability to a real test", he said, warning that lasting security in the region cannot be achieved through "repeated cycles of escalation and retaliation".

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi was due for talks in Qatar, a key mediator, before traveling to New York to attend the UN General Assembly session, state media reported on Sunday.

Meanwhile, the US has warned that fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthi forces could "escalate rapidly" after a missile targeted Riyadh for the first time since the conflict resumed.

However, Trump said that the Houthis had agreed not to attack the US, despite the militia group stepping up its offensive against US ally Saudi Arabia, Fox News reported.

A senior Houthi official on Sunday warned countries against joining Saudi Arabia in Yemen's revived civil war, telling The Associated Press that his group has assured the Trump administration that it will not attack US vessels in the Red Sea.

This month, the Houthis, who already hold most of Yemen's populated areas, launched a lightning offensive to take over the country's entire Red Sea coast, giving them control over the vital Bab el-Mandeb Strait.

Trump cut short a weekend at Camp David, Maryland, to return to the White House, amid concerns over further escalation involving Iran and Yemen, CNN reported.

The US mission to the United Arab Emirates on Sunday urged citizens outside the Middle East to "seriously reconsider" travel to and through the region. "This military conflict has the potential to escalate rapidly," the alert said.

Agencies contributed to this story.