Iran is awaiting a final US response, via Qatari mediators, to a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear negotiations within seven days, as Washington maintains that ending the war and reaching an agreement will not be possible without addressing Iran’s nuclear programme. This followed US President Donald Trump’s announcement that he rejected the Iranian proposal in its proposed form, despite continued indirect contacts between the two sides.
Araghchi awaits US response through Qatari mediation
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Qatari mediators in New York to discuss ideas related to reopening the strait. He told Iranian state media on Monday that the mediators would convey what was discussed at the meeting to the US side, expressing hope of receiving Washington’s final response by Tuesday.
Araghchi explained: “We discussed ideas and how to find solutions to meet Iran’s conditions, and how those conditions could be implemented.” He added that the Qatari mediators had also put forward some ideas, and that the discussions had concluded with these being conveyed, along with Iran’s position, to the US side. Asked whether he would remain in New York until a response arrived, Araghchi said he would leave for Tehran within hours, adding: “When the Qataris have a response, they know how to get it to us.”
He described the meetings as an extension of an existing exchange of messages through mediators from Qatar and Pakistan, but said the process had taken “a more serious form” after Iran presented its proposal. Tehran had put forward its plan during the UN General Assembly in New York.
Reopening plan links shipping to nuclear issue and sanctions
The plan calls for the United States to release frozen Iranian funds, lift sanctions and end the naval blockade imposed on Iranian ports before the Strait of Hormuz is reopened and negotiations begin on a final agreement covering the nuclear programme. According to the proposal presented by Araghchi, the initial steps could be completed within four or five days of Washington accepting it.
In his earlier explanation of the timetable, he said the strait could be reopened on the sixth day, with negotiations on the nuclear programme beginning on the seventh day. The proposal also includes a protocol allowing UN inspectors to return to damaged Iranian nuclear sites and inspect the stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Iran is also demanding the restoration of the waiver that eased sanctions on its oil exports, and a ceasefire on all fronts. According to the proposal’s details, this includes Washington moving to persuade Israel to end its attacks on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, as well as restarting shipping through the strait along a route running mostly through Iranian waters.
Trump rejects proposal and demands dismantling of nuclear programme
But Trump announced that he rejected the plan, telling reporters at the White House: “They made a proposal, but I reject it,” and describing the offer in another statement as “unacceptable”. He also posted a map on his Truth Social platform showing the Strait of Hormuz labelled the “Trump Strait”.
The Wall Street Journal quoted unnamed US officials as saying that Trump doubted Iran’s willingness to meet his demands to dismantle its nuclear programme, and had told his aides that he expected the bombing of Iran to resume after the US midterm elections in November. Speaking to reporters on Monday, Trump said US officials had also spoken to the mediators, adding: “We will win.
And it will happen very quickly,” saying that fuel prices would fall after the US victory in the war. An American official, meanwhile, said indirect discussions with Tehran were still continuing and described them as “positive and constructive”, but stressed that there would be no agreement unless Iran’s nuclear programme was addressed.
He added that Trump was prepared to ease sanctions and release frozen Iranian funds in return for progress on nuclear issues. According to the official, Iran had shown flexibility on nuclear matters, but disagreement remained over the timing of commitments and which side should take the first step.
The official expressed scepticism about Iran’s position, accusing Tehran of violating a memorandum of understanding signed in June by firing on commercial vessels. Iran denies the accusation and says Washington breached its commitments by failing to halt Israeli attacks on Lebanon and working to establish alternative shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz area.
Araghchi said his country’s conditions were clear and that any move to reopen the strait remained conditional on their implementation, stressing: “We will not back down from them.” The Iranian foreign minister added: “We have never closed the door to diplomacy or negotiations, but at the same time we have not abandoned our rights.”
He said Tehran had seen the US president’s initial reaction, but had not yet received a final position through the mediators, explaining that Iran would make its decision after receiving the official position. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said, after meeting UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York, that Iran had not withdrawn from the negotiating table but no longer trusted the United States based on its previous experiences.
In a television interview, he confirmed Tehran’s readiness to discuss its nuclear programme and other issues, while rejecting what he called “bullying or coercion”. Pezeshkian added that Iran was not seeking war but would defend itself against pressure, threats and attacks. He said his country had already agreed that it “is not developing nuclear weapons”, while Washington insists that these positions be translated into commitments under any new agreement.
Hormuz closure puts pressure on energy supplies and shipping
Iran closed the strait shortly after the US and Israeli attacks began on 28 February. Before the war, the passage handled about 20 per cent of global oil and gas supplies. Iranian attacks on vessels since then have caused a sharp decline in shipping traffic, while oil prices rose above 100 dollars a barrel.
Some vessels used a route monitored by US forces along Oman’s coast, sailing at night after switching off tracking systems before unloading their oil onto tankers outside the strait. US Central Command commander Admiral Brad Cooper said US forces had helped 2,000 maritime voyages cross the area and transport more than one billion barrels of oil in recent months.
The United States also imposed a blockade on Iranian ports and threatened secondary sanctions against airports and companies dealing with Iranian airlines. The United Arab Emirates, Iraq and Oman have already cancelled flights linked to these measures.
In Tehran, Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said in a message marking the Iran-Iraq war and the killing of Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah by Israel in 2024 that the era of foreign domination was over. He added that Iran’s opponents, after being struck by Iranian fighters and the “Guardians of the Strait of Hormuz”, no longer dared to cross the Arabian Sea, predicting that a time would come when their presence would also be driven from the sea.
Major General Ali Abdollahi, chief of staff of Iran’s armed forces, warned that Iran and its allied forces would deliver a “decisive and devastating response” to any threat targeting the country. Admiral Habibollah Sayyari, for his part, confirmed that the Strait of Hormuz remained closed and that Iranian forces were ready to prevent enemy forces from entering the country.
The war began on 28 February with US and Israeli attacks, and periods of pause and renewed strikes have followed since then, killing thousands, weakening Iran’s conventional forces and increasing pressure on the country’s economy. Iran and its allies responded by widening the confrontation regionally, with Tehran targeting US allies in the Gulf with drones and missiles, while the Houthis in Yemen attacked Saudi interests.
Iraqi factions allied with Iran were also accused of carrying out an attack on a pipeline that temporarily removed additional volumes of Saudi oil from the market.
In Yemen, the United Nations Children’s Fund said the violence had caused a new humanitarian crisis, with a rise recorded in cases of acute malnutrition among children.
