Iran Rules Out Direct Talks With Washington as the War Settles Into Stalemate

Iran said it is holding no direct negotiations with the United States and will not restart diplomatic talks until Washington meets a set of conditions, including an end to what Tehran calls violations of the Islamabad Memorandum. Oil prices climbed and equities slipped as markets absorbed the stalemate, while Trump described the current posture as trading talk of annihilation for economic pressure: 'We are low-keying it.'