Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Thursday, put forward a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days — contingent on the United States lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waiving sanctions on Iranian oil sales, and observing a ceasefire that would include Lebanon, according to WLOX, citing the Associated Press.
The offer arrives as the conflict approaches its seven-month mark, with no diplomatic breakthrough in sight despite what both sides have described as constructive indirect contact facilitated by Qatar in New York, Al Jazeera reported. The proposal closely mirrors a Memorandum of Understanding reached in June, which had prescribed a 60-day interim period for talks — an agreement that collapsed rapidly as Iran resumed attacks on shipping in the strait, according to WLOX. The accelerated seven-day timetable marks the key departure from that earlier framework.
Araghchi presented the terms publicly to reporters and privately in a closed gathering, according to the two outlets. Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute think tank, who attended the private session, told WLOX that Araghchi framed a swift agreement as politically advantageous for President Donald Trump ahead of November's midterm elections — suggesting it could reduce gas prices and deliver a pre-election win. Trump, however, has said he is in no rush to reach a deal, even as elevated oil prices stoke inflation and cost-of-living pressures at home, WLOX reported. There was no immediate comment from Iran's UN mission or other Iranian officials. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday only that 'if there's an opportunity to exchange ideas and messages, we will,' per WLOX. Al Jazeera reported that the US has claimed to be 'in total control' of the Strait of Hormuz and is pressing for Iran's nuclear program to be addressed from the outset of any talks — a sequencing Iran has flatly rejected, insisting the blockade must be lifted before broader negotiations begin. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, meanwhile, hosted the prime minister of Qatar early Friday, as Doha continues to serve as the principal intermediary, WLOX noted.
Parsi cautioned that deep suspicion persists on both sides, particularly around the possibility that Iran is using diplomacy to buy time, extract more oil revenue, and ease its economic pain before any durable agreement takes shape, WLOX reported. Al Jazeera cited analysts as saying a firm peace deal remains unlikely, with Iran still insisting on a sequenced approach — strait reopening first, nuclear talks later — while Washington demands the opposite. Whether hard-liners within Iran's security establishment would accept any compromise brokered by relative moderates such as Pezeshkian remains an open and unresolved question, per WLOX.
The seven-day clock Araghchi described has not started. Washington has not accepted the plan. The strait remains closed.