Iran’s foreign minister has told media outlets in New York that Iran has offered to the United States to terminate their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days.
Abbas Araghchi, in the US for the UN General Assembly, told media outlets like the New York Times and The Guardian UK: “Depending on some conditions, the strait will be open within seven days and talks will begin.
The plan was initially reported by Japanese news agency Kyodo on Tuesday, quoting a senior Iranian official.
But Iranian media downplayed the Kyodo report and authorities in Tehran have not commented on their position.
Araghchi also discussed with the US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday.
Iran has already spelt out seven requirements for ending the war and opening the channel.
The current idea, published by the New York Times, would entail a stop of all hostilities in the Middle East for seven days, including in Lebanon, Araghchi said.
It also demands for the unfreezing of Iranian assets estimated at more than $12 billion, the removal of sanctions on Iranian oil and an end to the US naval blockade of Iran.
Iran would open Hormuz again on the seventh day of the truce.
Araghchi said he was waiting for a response from the US on the initiative, stressing that China backs the proposal.
Chinese President Xi Jinping is in the US this week for discussions with Trump.
Ending the fighting in Yemen is also among Tehran’s demands, Hossein Mohebi, a spokesman for the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological branch of Iran’s military, told AFP in an exclusive interview on Tuesday.
The US and Iran signed a memorandum of agreement in June to halt the war, reopen the strait and begin discussions on Iran’s nuclear program.
But the arrangement fell apart soon after when Iran attacked commercial ships in Hormuz that it said had strayed from its designated route through the river.
Iran has emphasised that ships should seek permission before passing through for reasons of security and sovereignty.
Noncompliant vessels are often attacked and the United States has irregularly bombed Iranian coastal locations in retaliation.
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