Iran says choice on reopening Hormuz rests with the United States after deal offer
The choice to reopen the Strait of Hormuz “rests with the United States,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday, indicating shipping through the critical waterway could resume within days once a deal is reached.“If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened, and normal maritime passage restored within seven days,” Araghchi told reporters.“The choice now rests with the United States.”He said a “concrete seven-day plan” had been conveyed to the U.S.
through Qatar, after indirect talks through mediators were held on the sidelines of this week’s United Nations General Assembly in New York.“The seven day timeline starts as soon as the United States accepts this plan,” he added.
“If they accept this plan tomorrow, the seven days will start from tomorrow.There are certain actions to be taken by the United States.
And we believe that these actions can be taken in four or five days.”00:48Iran offers new proposal to reopen Strait of Hormuz00:0000:00Araghchi said that the actions required by the U.S.in their proposal were already agreed to in the June Memorandum of Understanding between the two countries that laid out plans for a temporary ceasefire.
That agreement, signed in June, collapsed within days after fresh strikes were exchanged.“They fall already under the commitments of the United States, so we don’t see any difficulty to implement them,” he said.One of the conditions of the plan is for the U.S.to accept a maritime transit route through the Strait of Hormuz that has been agreed upon by Iran and Oman, Araghchi said Thursday.A U.S.
official said the Trump Administration is having positive and constructive discussions through the mediators but that they were not in any hurry to reach an agreement.“The United States is in a very strong position with control of the Strait of Hormuz, so we are not in a rush,” the U.S.official said.
“Over the last 48 hours, nearly 40 million barrels of oil have tr...