Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told US envoy Steve Witkoff on Tuesday that Tehran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz had been discussed during a meeting held on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Iranian state media reported.
Iran sets conditions for reopening Strait of Hormuz
Iranian media said the conditions include the immediate lifting of the naval blockade imposed on Iranian ports, the urgent release of all frozen Iranian assets and an end to the war on all fronts Tehran describes as the “resistance fronts”. Iran presented the demands as conditions for allowing shipping to resume through the strategic waterway.
The meeting came hours after a senior Iranian official said his country could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States began easing military pressure and lifted the blockade imposed on Iranian ports. The official said Washington must formally declare its desire to resolve the crisis diplomatically, then agree on a timetable for implementing the required steps.
Tehran offers diplomatic path through mediators
The official said the Iranian proposal had been conveyed to the United States through mediators on 16 September, and that the Iranian delegation attending the General Assembly meetings had the authority to revive the diplomatic track. He added that details of a possible agreement to end hostilities between Tehran and Washington could be discussed in New York through mediators if the US administration took concrete steps.
The Iranian official confirmed that President Masoud Pezeshkian, who travelled to New York on Tuesday, would not meet US President Donald Trump at the United Nations headquarters. He described the General Assembly meetings as an opportunity for Washington to return to diplomacy, while Tehran was ready to resume contacts provided the United States began taking practical steps.
Araghchi said on 13 September that reopening the strait was linked to the United States returning to the commitments it had accepted under the Islamabad understanding. He explained that arrangements reached by Iran and Oman concerning new maritime routes set out navigation mechanisms when conditions were suitable, but did not in themselves amount to reopening the strait.
In a subsequent US account, Trump said US and Iranian officials had held talks lasting three hours, without providing details about their content.
He also said that Witkoff and Jared Kushner had held a meeting with Iranian mediators, describing it as productive as diplomatic efforts related to the war and the restoration of full navigation through the Strait of Hormuz continued.
