Iran says its seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz is still open to the US

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said over the weekend that Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days remains available to the United States and that Tehran is reviewing US comments on it. He spoke in Baghdad, where he was attending a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, according to Reuters reports carried by Ada Derana and The Kathmandu Post.

The proposal

Reuters reported that Iran presented the plan in mid-September after an interim ceasefire collapsed. Araghchi said that if Washington accepts Iran's conditions, the strait could reopen within six days, with talks resuming the next day. The Free Press Journal, carrying an IANS report, said the plan was relayed to the US through Qatar.

The conditions Reuters listed are lifting the US blockade of Iranian ports, lifting US sanctions on Iranian oil exports, and ending hostilities on all regional fronts, along with other demands that it did not specify. It reported that Iran's security chief said last week that talks had stalled because Washington had not addressed all seven of Iran's conditions.

What Araghchi said

Reuters reported that Araghchi said that if the US were honest, the way to reopening the strait would be obvious, and that it is not. Rising Kashmir, citing ANI, reported that he accused the US of choosing aggression, threats and economic warfare over diplomacy. The Free Press Journal, carrying IANS, reported him saying Iran does not accept coercion, threats or intimidation, and said he described Iran as open to talks based on mutual respect and credible guarantees. It reported that he said the strait was open before the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, and that the choice now rests with the United States.

The US position

Reuters reported that Washington insists on addressing Iran's nuclear program from the outset, which it called the central disagreement, while Tehran wants talks to begin with reopening the strait. It said Vice President JD Vance said earlier this month that Iran must make a meaningful reduction in its uranium enrichment capacity to meet US demands and end the eight-month war. Rising Kashmir reported that President Donald Trump said at a rally in Kentucky on Saturday that the war would end very quickly. None of the reports read describes a formal US reply to the seven-day plan.

Background

The Free Press Journal's account says Israel and the US launched attacks on Iran on February 28, a ceasefire took effect on April 8, and Iran and the US signed a memorandum of understanding on June 18 that set 60 days for a final deal on the nuclear program and sanctions. It said progress was insufficient. Reuters noted that before the war the strait carried about a fifth of global oil and liquefied natural gas trade.