TEHRAN — Iran on Monday said "intensive" exchanges were underway with Washington and offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz under strict conditions, as efforts escalated to avert a return to war. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said indirect talks were taking place via mediators. China also urged a return to negotiations, while Iran's security chief discussed the conflict with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Oil prices, sent rocketing by Iran's blockade of the Strait of Hormuz energy corridor, dropped more than six percent on Monday on optimism over the eight-month-old conflict. "Given the sensitivity and gravity of the current situation, consultations and deliberations are very intensive," Araghchi said in a video interview with the official IRNA news agency. "Qatar and Pakistan are playing a very active mediating role in these negotiations." The Axios news outlet reported that U.S. Vice President JD Vance had sent a letter to Iranian national security chief Mohsen Rezaei about possible new talks, marking the highest-level move in months. The redoubled diplomatic push comes ahead of