Iran has proposed a seven-day cessation of hostilities with the United States and other parties in the Middle East as part of a plan to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said.
Araghchi, who is in New York for the United Nations General Assembly, disclosed the proposal while speaking to international media outlets, including The New York Times and The Guardian.
“If certain conditions are met, the strait will be open within seven days, and talks will start,” he said.
Japan’s Kyodo News Agency was the first to report the proposal, citing a senior Iranian official on Tuesday. Iranian media subsequently denied the report, while authorities in Tehran had not initially issued a clear confirmation.
Araghchi also held talks on Tuesday with Steve Witkoff, United States President Donald Trump’s envoy.
Under the latest proposal, Iran is seeking a seven-day cessation of hostilities across the Middle East, including Lebanon, before reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian foreign minister also listed the release of frozen Iranian assets estimated at more than $12 billion, the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil and an end to the US naval blockade of Iran among Tehran’s conditions.
According to the proposal, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz on the seventh day of the truce.
Araghchi said Tehran was awaiting Washington’s response, adding that China supported the proposal.
The development comes amid heightened tensions over the strategic waterway, through which a significant share of global oil shipments passes.
Hossein Mohebi, a spokesman for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, also told AFP that ending hostilities in Yemen was among Tehran’s demands.
The latest proposal follows an earlier memorandum of understanding signed by the United States and Iran in June, which was aimed at ending the conflict, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and commencing negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme.
That understanding subsequently collapsed after Iran fired on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing them of deviating from authorised routes.
Iran has maintained that ships must obtain permission before passing through the waterway, citing security and sovereignty concerns.
Vessels that fail to comply have faced Iranian attacks, while the United States has periodically carried out strikes against Iranian coastal positions in retaliation.
