Iran on Saturday awaited an official US response to its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end fighting after the Wall Street Journal reported Donald Trump had rejected the deal.
Iran raised the diplomatic initiative at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying it had been transmitted to the Americans via Qatari mediators and could reopen the strategic waterway and put an end to hostilities in the region within seven days.
The Iranians also engaged their Saudi rivals regarding the strait, underscoring the stakes of a seven-month-old conflict that has disrupted oil flows through one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes and taken a toll on the global economy.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters at the United Nations on Friday the deal would trigger a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait and a pause in regional fighting.
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“If there is seriousness on the US side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared,” Araghchi said.
If the US were to agree, the warring parties could start wider talks “on mutually agreed subjects”, he said.
That could potentially include discussions of Iran’s nuclear programme. Trump has vowed that Tehran will never acquire a nuclear bomb, while a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran will show no flexibility over its nuclear programme even if the United States accepts its peace deal.
Iran would grant no concessions over its rights, including enriching uranium or shipping its highly enriched uranium out of the country, the official said.
Even so, Iran had put forward a plan that would halt hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. The plan in turn would require the United States to lift its blockade on Iranian ports, release Iran’s frozen funds and waive its oil sanctions, Araghchi said.
A US official had previously called discussions through mediators “positive and constructive”.
But Trump was privately sceptical that Iran would meet his demands, the Journal report said, and he told his staff that he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely.
Previous attempts at diplomacy have failed to end the war, which began on February 28th with US and Israeli attacks.
Since then the war has alternated between pauses and renewed strikes, killing thousands while degrading Iran’s conventional forces and damaging Iran’s already ailing economy.
Iran and its allies have retaliated by extending the conflict throughout the region. Iran, which controls the strait along with Oman, has struck US allies in the Gulf with drones and missiles while its Houthi allies in Yemen have targeted Saudi interests.
Iranian-aligned militias in Iraq were blamed for a pipeline attack that temporarily took more Saudi oil off the market. All the while, Iranian-backed Hizbullah has been engaged with Israeli forces in Lebanon. – Reuters
