IRAN has presented the United States with a seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz if Washington agrees to conditions set by Tehran, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said.
Araghchi said Iran had conveyed the proposal to Washington through Qatar after he held talks with US President Donald Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, on Tuesday.
“Iran has conveyed to the US, through Qatar, a concrete seven-day plan. If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened and maritime transit restored within seven days.
“The choice now lies with the United States. Iran does not accept coercion, threats or intimidation and will not surrender its sovereign rights under pressure,” AFP reported him saying in an address to the United Nations on Friday.
Araghchi said Tehran was prepared to reach an agreement if Washington demonstrated a genuine commitment to securing a deal and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
“I can say that if there is seriousness on the part of the US to reach an agreement and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now in place,” he said.
Media reports said the new proposal included a seven-day cessation of all hostilities in West Asia, including in Lebanon.
It was also reported to call for the release of frozen Iranian assets estimated at at least US$12 billion, the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil and an end to the US naval blockade of Iran.
Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz on the seventh day of the ceasefire.
Iranian Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebi told AFP in an exclusive interview on Tuesday that ending hostilities in Yemen was also among Tehran’s demands.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian confirmed that Tehran wanted to resume talks on a memorandum of understanding (MoU) agreed with the United States in June.
His remarks came days after he said Tehran would not yield to Washington.
Pezeshkian also welcomed China’s call for the understanding to be revived, saying on X that Iran shared that position and stressed the importance of returning to the agreement.
The June MoU was intended to end the war, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and pave the way for negotiations on Iran’s nuclear programme.
However, the understanding was not implemented after Iran opened fire on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, alleging that they had deviated from approved routes.
Iran subsequently required vessels to obtain permission before transiting the strait, citing security and sovereignty concerns.
Vessels that refused to comply with the instructions were repeatedly targeted, while the United States periodically launched strikes on Iranian coastal areas in response.
Diplomatic efforts to end the conflict in West Asia, which began after surprise US and Israeli attacks on Iran in late February, have remained deadlocked for months.
The June agreement was intended to pave the way for a comprehensive peace deal, but collapsed soon afterwards.
There had been hopes that negotiations could resume on the sidelines of this week’s UN General Assembly.
However, in a forceful address to the world body on Wednesday, Pezeshkian said Iran would not submit to the United States.
A day later, he told Fox News that Iran did not want to continue the war, but left it to Washington to bring the conflict to an end.
Araghchi also took part in a meeting with Witkoff and the US president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.
However, the talks produced no immediate breakthrough. - September 26, 2026
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