Iran Offers Faster Hormuz Reopening Plan if US Meets Its Demands
Iran said on Monday that it can carry out its Hormuz reopening plan and return to nuclear talks with the United States in two days, down from the seven days it first allowed. The offer comes with conditions, and there was no sign that Washington had accepted it.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the seven-step proposal, first put forward in October, is unchanged and has only been condensed. He called it proof of Tehran’s good-faith approach and said it remains the basis for talks held through mediators. Qatar and Pakistan are helping to pass messages between the two sides.
Iran’s demands include an end to the US blockade of its ports, relief from sanctions on its oil sales, a guarantee that strikes will stop and a ceasefire that covers Lebanon. Under the Hormuz reopening plan, ships using the strait would follow a route agreed by Iran and Oman and sail under Iranian supervision. Baghaei gave no indication that Tehran had softened any demand.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, said Iran is ready for both diplomacy and military confrontation. If its conditions are accepted, he said, the strait will open and talks will resume. If not, the present situation will continue. Iran’s state news agency IRNA also reported that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has given the government powers to speed up talks.
US President Donald Trump said the negotiations are going well. On Sunday he said the war, now about eight months old, would end “very soon one way or the other”, either through a deal or by the United States ending it. He has hinted at possible strikes on Iran after Tuesday’s US midterm elections.
Separately, China said it will send a special envoy to Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia in early to mid-November to help ease tensions. The region is preparing for possible renewed fighting, and much now depends on whether Washington accepts the Hormuz reopening plan or rejects it.
Source: Associated Press and Al Jazeera