Iran pitches 7-day plan to restart US talks, reopen Strait of Hormuz

Iran has shared a seven-day plan with the U.S. to end fighting between the two countries, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart talks for a final peace deal, Tehran’s foreign minister told multiple outlets Thursday in New York City.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told a group of reporters at the United Nations General Assembly that “if certain conditions are met” by Washington, the strait would be opened at the end of the plan’s seven days.

Araghchi noted that the terms of the proposal, given to the U.S. through intermediators, closely matched commitments in the now dead 14-point memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed by Washington and Tehran in June. That deal unraveled amid renewed fighting in July.

With a seven-day timeline, the new deal would move at a much faster pace than the MOU, which had a 60-day time frame for restarting nuclear talks.

Araghchi said Iran was ready to start the plan as soon as the Trump administration agreed to it and that “it would be better” if a deal was reached before the November midterm elections.

A U.S. official told The New York Times that the administration was having constructive talks through mediators but was not going to rush into any agreement.

The Iranian plan comes after Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Thursday that his country is willing to strike a deal with the U.S. before the midterms, pushing back on President Trump’s claim that the regime is waiting until after Americans hit the polls to settle the conflict.

Trump and Pezeshkian delivered fiery speeches at the U.N. General Assembly earlier this week, during which the U.S. president threatened Iran with “annihilation” if it did not make a deal. Pezeshkian, in turn, said Iran would not be bullied.

Araghchi said the latest proposal would end all hostilities in Iran and Lebanon during the seven days; Washington would release billions of dollars in Tehran’s frozen assets, waive sanctions on Iranian oil and lift its naval blockade on Iran; and only on the last day would the Strait of Hormuz be reopened, as reported by the Times.

Following the seven days, the two sides would immediately begin comprehensive negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.

Trump has reportedly been frustrated by a lack of off-ramp to the Iran war, which has stretched on for nearly seven months after the president initially insisted the conflict would only take a matter of weeks.

The deeply unpopular conflict has hampered the global energy market amid the closure of the strait, causing energy and food prices to spike.