On Sept. 25 a U.S. official said Washington is holding "active and constructive" talks with Iran after Tehran proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz and restarting negotiations if its proposal is accepted. The official said the U.S. is not rushing because it believes it currently holds the advantage, and that nearly 40 million barrels of oil transited the Strait under U.S. escort in the past 48 hours.

TASS: Putin said Russia had been prepared to resume talks with Kyiv after Ukraine's elections, but Kyiv tried to strike Moscow and attacked polling stations.

Germany's Rhine has recorded historic low water levels after several weeks of low flow. At Kaub (near Koblenz) the gauge fell to 2 cm on Sept 25, 5 cm below the previous low on Aug 17. Germany's Rhine waterway and shipping authority said conditions remain tense. Several North Rhine‑Westphalia stations could hit record lows in coming days; Düsseldorf is forecast to fall into negative on Sept 26, below the prior -1 cm record from August, and Duisburg–Ruhrort may breach its previous 129 cm low.