Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said that the mediators working to end the war between the United States and Iran have not travelled at all since the "shock" of the US midterm elections, leaving the indirect talks in a holding pattern.

Speaking to Iranian state television on Sunday, Araghchi said Tehran was waiting to see how Washington digested the election result before deciding how to move forward. "We now have to see how long it will take for them to digest these results, in order to determine how we are going to move forward," he said.

"For the past few days, there has been no more travel [by mediators], and the reason for this is the shock that the election results in the United States have caused to everyone," Araghchi added. He said it would take some time before the atmosphere was favourable for mediator travel to resume, and he called for patience.

The Democrats won control of both chambers of Congress in Tuesday's midterm elections, a result that dealt a heavy blow to President Donald Trump's Republican Party. The outcome has raised questions in Tehran, and in Washington, about whether the US administration will stick with diplomacy or return to military action against Iran.

Qatar has been mediating the indirect talks between Washington and Tehran. Qatar denied reports on Saturday that the two sides had failed to reach a deal, underlining that the mediation effort was still alive even as the shuttle diplomacy paused.

Araghchi also said on Sunday that Iran's proposal for a deal stood. Tehran first put forward a seven-step plan in September, and it has since been condensed so that it could be implemented within two days. The plan calls for an end to the war on all fronts, the unfreezing of Iranian assets, a lifting of oil sanctions and an end to the US counter-blockade of Iranian ports, with the Strait of Hormuz to be reopened as part of the package.

The pause in mediator travel comes at a sensitive moment. Trump said on Sunday that renewed fighting with Iran was "highly unlikely" so long as talks progressed, while also warning that any decision would depend on whether Tehran signed what he called a very strong agreement. In recent weeks he has threatened to renew strikes, with US media reporting that hostilities could resume after the midterm elections.

The war began on 28 February 2026, when the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Tehran responded with attacks on Israel and US military installations in Arab countries, and the conflict has since spread to shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and to fighting between Saudi Arabia and Yemen's Houthis.

For now, there is no date for mediator travel to resume and no meeting planned between the two sides. Araghchi's remarks suggest Tehran is in no hurry, and that it expects Washington to make the next move once the dust from the midterm elections has settled.