Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said his country was prepared to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States accepted Tehran’s conditions, as part of an initiative that includes resuming nuclear talks between the two countries within a week.
Araghchi said the Iranian conditions were not new and were based on previous understandings, without specifying their nature. The initiative comes amid rising tensions in the Middle East and a decline in shipping traffic through the strait.
Iranian and US positions
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that ending the war, which has continued for months, was “a decision in the hands of the United States,” while US President Donald Trump rejected a return to the previous ceasefire agreement reached in June before it later collapsed.
Ending the war, which has continued for months, is “a decision in the hands of the United States.”
Regional escalation and declining shipping traffic
The initiative coincided with a military escalation, as the Houthis launched dozens of missiles and drones toward targets inside Saudi Arabia, while authorities said they had intercepted some of them.
Shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz saw a marked decline, increasing energy markets’ sensitivity to developments involving the waterway through which about one-fifth of the world’s oil supplies pass.
Oil awaits a diplomatic breakthrough
Oil prices edged lower, with Brent crude trading near $105 a barrel, as markets awaited the possibility of a diplomatic breakthrough that could ease supply risks.
China is seeking to play a mediating role alongside high-level talks between Washington and Beijing aimed at containing the escalation in the region.
