Iran says seven-day plan could restore shipping through Strait of Hormuz

Iran has offered the United States a plan under which the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened to maritime traffic within seven days, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Friday. Araghchi said the proposal had been conveyed to Washington through Qatar. He told the United Nations that normal passage could resume within a week if the necessary conditions were accepted, adding that the decision now rested with the United States.

He said Iran would not accept threats or pressure and would not surrender what he described as its sovereign rights. Araghchi also said Tehran was prepared to proceed if the US side showed seriousness about reaching an agreement and reopening the waterway. Earlier media reports said the proposal involved a seven-day cessation of hostilities across the Middle East, including in Lebanon.

The reports also said Iran was seeking the release of frozen assets estimated at at least US$12 billion, the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil and an end to a US naval blockade. Under the reported arrangement, Iran would reopen the strait on the seventh day of the truce. Hossein Mohebi, a spokesman for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, said ending hostilities in Yemen was also among Tehran’s demands.

The proposal follows a memorandum of understanding signed by Iran and the United States in June. That agreement was intended to end the war, reopen Hormuz and begin negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme, but it broke down soon afterwards. Iran later fired on commercial ships in the waterway, accusing them of leaving an approved route.

Tehran requires vessels to obtain authorisation before passing through the strait, citing security and sovereignty concerns. The source material said ships that refuse have been targeted, while the United States has occasionally bombed Iranian coastal areas in response.