Iran is prepared to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if Washington agrees to its conditions, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said, adding that negotiations with Qatari mediators on the proposal are continuing, according to Al Jazeera.
Araghchi said the talks with Doha had already shortened the proposed timeline for reopening the waterway. “The Qatari side proposed shortening the implementation period of the Iranian proposal to five days. We have reached a proposal at this stage that reduces the implementation period to two days,” he was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.
Setting out Tehran's demands, the Foreign Minister said Iran wanted the US to withdraw sanctions imposed after the Islamabad memorandum, scale down its military presence in the region, bring back oil waivers and unfreeze Iranian assets. “We demand the restoration of oil waivers and the release of all our frozen funds, including those held in Qatar,” Araghchi said.
Iran is also seeking recognition of the Hormuz shipping routes it had discussed with Oman, along with the closure of all other routes, he said. According to Al Jazeera, Araghchi added that reopening the strait on Iran's terms “paves the way for the resumption of negotiations with Washington regarding outstanding issues.”
The full list of Tehran's demands covers the lifting of US sanctions imposed after the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) fell apart in July, a reduction in US forces in the region, reinstatement of the oil waivers granted under the MoU in June, and the release of frozen funds, including those parked in Qatar. Iran also wants formal recognition of a new shipping lane through the strait, worked out with Oman, with all other routes shut, and an end to the war on all fronts, especially Israel's attacks on Lebanon.
The proposal is part of a wider back-and-forth between the two countries over a possible negotiating framework, with Tehran insisting its conditions must be fulfilled before any peace talks begin or the strait reopens.
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Earlier, Iran's top security official Mohsen Rezaei had ruled out talks and said the Strait of Hormuz would stay closed unless Tehran's seven conditions were met. He also said those conditions were entirely different from the framework of the Islamabad negotiations, Al Jazeera reported.
“We have repeatedly stated: the seven conditions announced by Iran must be fulfilled. If the conditions are met, the path of diplomacy will be open,” Rezaei said in a post on X.
In the same post, he warned that Iran would respond forcefully to any attack. Citing a directive issued that day by the Supreme Leader to the armed forces, Rezaei said Iran would “deliver devastating blows to the aggressor using new weaponry” if any action was taken against the country.
The latest diplomatic moves come after US Vice President JD Vance sent Rezaei a letter through Qatari mediators. Rezaei said the US had “completely shifted tone” in the message and called it a positive sign for Iran. “Their tone has shifted completely, which is a good sign that shows that our people have secured their victory,” he told state broadcaster IRIB, as quoted by Al Jazeera.
The letter reportedly laid out a framework for negotiations rather than specific peace terms. It proposed direct talks led by Vance, with Iran's nuclear programme also on the agenda.
After studying the letter, Araghchi had called Washington's outreach a “positive step” and said an aide had gone to Doha to consult the mediators.
In Washington, US President Donald Trump has insisted that Iran is keen to negotiate. “There are talks, they want to talk, they keep talking,” he said.
Trump has also warned that the US could strike Iran's remaining nuclear sites, claiming such an operation could be carried out “in 10 minutes”. Speaking at a Halloween event, he said Iran wanted to “make a deal” and that talks were “going fine”, but described Tehran as “not very reliable”.
Asked whether he would order fresh strikes on Iran, Trump called the question “stupid”. “Let's say I did, would I tell you? I can't tell you,” he said.
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