Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States eases military pressure and lifts its blockade of Iranian ports, according to a senior Iranian official who spoke to a media outlet on Tuesday.
Tehran Signals Possible Return to Diplomacy
The Iranian official said Washington would first need to formally declare that it wants to resolve the confrontation through diplomacy and agree on a timetable for negotiations.
Iran’s delegation attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York has been given authority to revive diplomatic contacts with the United States, the official said. Tehran’s proposal was reportedly passed to Washington through mediators on September 16.
The official said an agreement to end hostilities could be discussed in New York through intermediaries, describing the UN General Assembly as an opportunity for Washington to return to diplomacy.
Strait of Hormuz Remains Under Severe Pressure
The offer comes as shipping through the Strait of Hormuz remains sharply reduced amid the wider US-Iran confrontation. The strategic waterway normally handles a significant share of global oil and liquefied natural gas shipments, but commercial traffic has fallen substantially during the conflict.
Reuters reported that 17 commodity vessels transited the strait over the weekend, compared with 37 the previous weekend. Before the conflict began, the waterway handled about 125 large commercial vessels a day.
No Trump-Pezeshkian Meeting Planned
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian travelled to New York on Tuesday for the UN General Assembly, but the Iranian official said he would not meet US President Donald Trump at UN headquarters.
Iran’s proposal nevertheless indicates that Tehran is seeking a diplomatic channel through mediators while maintaining its demands for reduced US military pressure and an end to the blockade. Whether Washington will accept those conditions remains uncertain.
The developments are being closely watched by energy markets because any sustained disruption to the Strait of Hormuz could affect global oil and gas supplies. Oil prices rose on Tuesday as markets monitored the possibility of renewed US-Iran negotiations.
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