Iran Awaits US Response Tuesday on Reopening Strait of Hormuz
Iran's foreign minister said he expects a formal US answer on Tuesday to Tehran's proposal for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with Qatari mediators relaying the terms.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said late Monday he expects a formal response from the United States on Tuesday regarding Tehran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to state media. Speaking from New York, where he is attending the UN General Assembly, Araghchi said Qatari intermediaries had presented ideas that were already discussed and would soon be raised once more with the American side, after which Washington's final response would be conveyed to Iran. He noted the Qatari side hopes this exchange happens by Tuesday.
Araghchi stressed that current negotiations are focused specifically on the Strait of Hormuz, and that reopening it depends on certain conditions already communicated to the American side.
Background of the conflict
The Strait of Hormuz sits at the center of the dispute between the United States and Iran, which erupted in late February following US and Israeli strikes on Iranian targets. Before the war, the waterway carried roughly a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas shipments. After fighting began, Tehran imposed a blockade on the strait, prompting Washington to respond with its own blockade of Iranian ports.
Last week, Araghchi held talks in New York with US envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner. As a condition for lifting its blockade, Iran is demanding a seven-day ceasefire across the broader Middle East, including in Lebanon, where its ally Hezbollah continues fighting Israeli forces. Tehran is also seeking the unfreezing of its assets held abroad, the removal of sanctions on its oil sector, and an end to the US naval blockade.
