AMN/ WEB DESK
Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume talks on its nuclear programme in seven days if the United States lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waives sanctions on Iranian oil sales and observes a ceasefire that would include Lebanon.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi detailed the proposal to reporters outside the UN Security Council, saying it would also restart stalled talks with the US on Iran’s nuclear programme. The seven-day timeline will start as soon as the United States accepts this plan, he said.
Araghchi said initial steps would take about four to five days to complete, and the strait would be open on the sixth day. On day seven, talks with the US would begin for the final deal on mutually agreed subjects, he said, referring to the nuclear programme.
The White House said that US officials are having positive and constructive conversations with mediators on the Iran war. There was no immediate comment on the proposal from Gulf Arab nations, although Saudi Arabia was sceptical of the latest push for a deal.
Iran’s disruption of the strait — through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas transited before the war — has emerged as its main point of leverage. The effects have been felt far beyond the Middle East and posed political problems for President Donald Trump and his Republican Party ahead of November’s midterm congressional elections.