Tehran proposes 7-day plan to reopen Strait of Hormuz

NEW YORK — Iran’s foreign minister Abbas Araghchi has proposed reopening the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz and resuming nuclear talks with the US within seven days if the Trump administration accepts its conditions.The latest offer comes shortly after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivered a defiant response to President Donald Trump’s “annihilation” threat at the United Nations General Assembly this week, and nearly seven months after the US and Israel launched their war against Tehran.“If certain conditions are met, the Strait of Hormuz will be open at the end of seven days, and talks will be restarted,” Araghchi told reporters on the sidelines of the General Assembly.US and Iranian negotiators in New York are exploring a phased path out of war that would involve Tehran reopening the Strait of Hormuz and Washington lifting its economic blockade of Iran, sources close to the talks said.The strait has become the central bargaining chip in efforts to end the nearly seven-month US-Iran conflict, with Iran seeking relief from the US blockade that is choking its economy and Washington seeking free passage for ships on the global oil supply route now blocked by Tehran.Top Qatari diplomat Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, a mediator in the Middle East war, spoke on Friday with Iranian President Pezeshkian about de-escalation and conditions for dialogue.The pair met on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.Pezeshkian invited Sheikh Mohammed to his residence, where they “reviewed the latest developments in the region and the efforts being made to de-escalate tensions and create a conducive environment for dialogue”, the Qatari foreign ministry said in a statement.The talks face a big obstacle as neither side wants to be the first to surrender its leverage, according to comments to Reuters by multiple sources, but behind Iran’s stance is a recognition of the economic cost of prolonged confrontation.A senior Iranian official said the most plausible way to end the impasse would be a phased arrangement, with Iran allowing navigation through Hormuz in return for the US lifting its economic blockade and Tehran potentially gaining access to frozen assets.“One way forward would be to solve the crisis in stages. The first would be to end the blockade and reopen Hormuz,” he said on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.That would involve US President Donald Trump accepting another temporary fix, after an earlier understanding collapsed in July. So a central challenge facing the negotiators is not just to sketch out a deal but also to ensure any concessions are durable enough for both sides to trust, the sources said.Trump has said he thinks the US and ‌Iran could reach a ‌deal after midterm elections to Congress on November 3. A senior European official said the Iranians “have a very long list of demands.”A White House official said ‌that while “Iran is desperate for a deal, President Trump holds all the cards and will make whatever decision is best for the United States.”Trump, he said, remained “open to talking with Iran under the right circumstances” but had no need to negotiate, and the US was in a “very strong position” with control of the Strait of Hormuz and an Iranian economy that was “collapsing.”The official said “crushing sanctions” and “one of the most successful blockades in history” have crippled Iran’s economy and left Iran completely broke. Trump was content to let the “inevitable Iranian collapse” play out rather than be “played” by Tehran, the official said.Former US negotiator Dennis Ross said he saw only a 30% chance of an agreement being reached before the vote, but that both sides may have stronger reasons to make a deal before than after the midterms.“The blockade is what’s really squeezing the Iranians. It’s strangling them,” Ross said.A deal before the midterms could benefit Trump, as reopening Hormuz could ease tensions in the Gulf, contain oil prices and help bring down politically sensitive US gasoline prices. Iran’s chances of gaining much-needed economic relief may be greater while Trump still has a greater political incentive to strike a bargain.After the midterms, Ross said, Trump may face fewer constraints and be more willing to intensify pressure or consider military options.Even as it seeks a diplomatic off-ramp, Tehran is preparing for the possibility of renewed war with Washington, the Iranian official ‌said, accusing the US of using the economic blockade and threat of force as tools of coercion.“Our fingers are on the trigger,” said the Iranian official. “The Americans know what they need to do but, because of their excessive demands, the chances of diplomacy resolving this are extremely low.”Regional sources said Tehran was willing to drop a demand for payment of transit fees to use the Strait of Hormuz from the main agreement and put the demand in a side attachment instead, as ending the blockade had become the more urgent priority.Gulf states have rejected the proposal for payment of transit fees. Any arrangement would be temporary, not a formal abandonment of Iran’s position, a regional source said. “Iran is not primarily focused on imposing tolls in Hormuz but on preserving its administrative control of the waterway,” he said. “Iran may be willing to defer the toll issue, but they are not going to give up administrative control of the strait.”During a separate meeting with Trump in New York, Gulf leaders sought clarity on Washington’s endgame beyond the midterms, including on whether the US would resume military action if Iran refused to return to negotiations.They conveyed their collective rejection of any Iranian control of Hormuz, saying freedom of navigation must be restored and that the strategic waterway should not become a tool of coercion against Gulf states, regional sources said.Yet alongside their warnings over Hormuz, Gulf leaders have pressed hard for de-escalation and a political process, reflecting the region’s determination to stay out of any further conflict between the US and Iran.“It’s still not clear what Trump’s endgame is, or what the alternative to the pressure campaign would be,” said Ebtessam al-Ketbi, president of the Emirates Policy Center think tank based in Abu Dhabi.“The Iranians, by contrast, know what they want. They’re reshaping the regional landscape through Hormuz and Bab el-Mandeb with a clear objective while Washington has yet to define its roadmap,” she said, referring to the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden.