Iran says the Strait of Hormuz can reopen in seven days if the US agrees

Iran’s foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, says ships could use the Strait of Hormuz again within seven days if the United States accepts Iran’s plan. He sent it through Qatar, which has helped Iran and the US talk. “The choice now rests with the United States,” Araghchi said at the United Nations in New York.

Under the plan, the US would end its sea blockade of Iranian ports, meaning it would stop blocking ships going in or out. Iran also wants the US to remove sanctions, or rules that limit Iranian oil sales, and accept a pause in fighting, called a ceasefire, that includes Lebanon. Araghchi said ships could pass through the strait on day six, while talks about Iran’s nuclear program, its work with energy from atoms, could begin on day seven.

The offer is like an agreement Iran and the US made in June. That deal lasted only weeks and fell apart after attacks on ships began again. Iran and the US each said the other side broke it.

The US had not given a public answer. A report citing US officials said President Donald Trump had rejected the plan, while a US official described talks through mediators as positive. Before the war, about one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passed through the strait. Its closure has caused large changes in energy prices, so the offer matters beyond Iran and the US.