Iran has proposed a plan during U.S. talks to reopen Hormuz within a week: minister

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UNITED NATIONS — Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday that Tehran had offered Washington a plan that would see the Strait of Hormuz reopened to maritime navigation within seven days once agreed.

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Araghchi met for talks on Tuesday with U.S. President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, and previously set out conditions for ending the war and reopening the vital energy shipping channel.

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“Iran has conveyed to the United States, through Qatar, a concrete seven-day plan. If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened, and normal maritime passage restored within seven days,” Araghchi said at the UN Friday.

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“The choice now rests with the United States. Iran does not accept coercion, threats, or intimidation, and Iran will not surrender its sovereign rights under pressure.

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“I can tell you if there is seriousness in the U.S. side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared.”

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Earlier media reports suggest the new plan calls for a cessation of all hostilities in the Middle East for seven days, including in Lebanon.

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It also reportedly calls for the release of frozen Iranian assets estimated to be worth at least US$12 billion, as well as the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil and an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iran.

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On the seventh day of the truce, Iran would reopen Hormuz.

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Hossein Mohebi, a spokesman for the Revolutionary Guards, the ideological arm of Iran’s military, told AFP in an exclusive interview on Tuesday that ending hostilities in Yemen was also among Tehran’s demands.

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The U.S. and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding in June that aimed to end the war, reopen the strait and launch talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

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But the deal broke down shortly afterward when Iran fired on commercial ships in Hormuz that it accused of deviating from its approved route through the waterway.

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Iran requires ships to obtain authorization before passage, citing security and sovereignty reasons.

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Ships that refuse to comply are regularly targeted, while the United States sporadically bombs Iranian coastal areas in retaliation.

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