Iran has presented the United States with a proposal that could lead to the reopening of the strategic Strait of Hormuz within seven days, but reports from the US indicate that President Donald Trump has rejected the plan.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi disclosed the proposal at the United Nations in New York, saying Tehran had communicated a detailed plan to Washington through Qatar.
The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most important shipping routes and plays a major role in global oil supplies. Its closure has remained a major point of tension in the prolonged confrontation between Iran and the United States.
According to Araghchi, Iran is prepared to restore normal shipping through the waterway if certain conditions are met.
“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,” he said.
He added that Tehran would not accept pressure as part of any agreement.
“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,” Araghchi said.
However, within hours of the announcement, reports emerged that Trump had rejected the proposal. The reports, citing US officials familiar with the matter, said the president remained doubtful that Tehran would satisfy his demands.
Trump also shared an image on his Truth Social platform showing a map of the Strait of Hormuz with the words “Trump Strait” written across it.
Details of the reported Iranian proposal indicate that Tehran is seeking a temporary halt to hostilities across the region as part of the arrangement.
The plan reportedly includes a seven-day cessation of hostilities, including fighting involving Lebanon, as well as the release of frozen Iranian assets estimated at more than $12 billion.
It also reportedly calls for the removal of sanctions on Iranian oil and an end to the US naval blockade of Iran.
Under the proposed arrangement, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz at the end of the seven-day truce.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the ceasefire process could begin immediately if Washington accepts the proposal.
“We had previously reached an agreement based on the MOU that was signed in Pakistan…if the United States agrees to proceed in that way, everything will return to the way it was before,” Pezeshkian said.
Tehran has also indicated that ending hostilities in Yemen is among its demands, according to a spokesman for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards.
The latest proposal follows an earlier memorandum of understanding signed by Iran and the US in June, which was intended to end the conflict, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and create a framework for negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme.
That agreement later collapsed after Iran opened fire on commercial vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, accusing some ships of deviating from routes approved by Tehran.
Iran has maintained that vessels must obtain permission before passing through the waterway, citing security and sovereignty concerns.
The continued tensions have had wider implications because of the importance of Hormuz to international shipping and energy markets, with the US and Iran remaining at odds over the conditions for ending hostilities.
Source: AFP.
