Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Oct. 20 that Tehran’s seven-day plan would reopen the Strait of Hormuz only after U.S. acceptance and fulfillment of its conditions; the U.S. has not publicly confirmed his account.
In an interview with Iraq’s Al Ekhbariya TV, Araghchi said indirect contacts were continuing through Pakistan and Qatar. He said Tehran wanted Washington to meet its commitments under the Islamabad memorandum before the sides took up other issues. He also said the United States had accepted Iran’s conditions but requested additional provisions, which he did not specify. EconoTimes previously covered Iran’s proposed conditions for reopening the strait.
The Associated Press reported Sept. 25 that Araghchi’s timetable would begin only if the United States accepted the plan. He described preparatory steps lasting four to five days, a full reopening on day six if the conditions were met, and negotiations on a final agreement starting the following day. The AP reported that the terms included ending the U.S. blockade affecting Iranian ports, suspending sanctions on Iranian oil sales and extending a ceasefire to Lebanon.
The strait’s disruption carries wider stakes. The AP reported that about one-fifth of traded oil and gas passed through the waterway before the war and described Iran’s disruption of it as a source of leverage. The news agency also noted that a June interim deal with a 60-day period collapsed after renewed attacks on shipping.
A Reuters report on Sept. 30 described a different account of the negotiations. Citing an unnamed non-Iranian official briefed on the talks, Reuters reported that President Donald Trump had rejected the proposal earlier and that the disagreement concerned the order of steps rather than the plan’s components.
If accepted and its conditions are met, Araghchi’s proposal sets final-deal negotiations for day seven, after the planned reopening.
