Play store
Iran has said it is ready to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz within two days if the United States agrees to its conditions, shortening an earlier proposed timeline of one week.
“The possibility of implementing this plan in two days is another indication of Iran’s good-faith approach,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said on Monday.
“We have stated that, if Iran’s demands are met, it would be possible to restore security to the Strait of Hormuz and resume the negotiating process within a short period,” he said.
Baqaei said an exchange of messages between Tehran and Washington was continuing through mediators, adding that “everything depends” on the US agreeing to Iran’s demands.
“Only then can we discuss the subsequent stages,” he added.
Since the Middle East war broke out in late February, Iran has asserted control over the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial global energy shipping route.
Tehran has regularly targeted vessels attempting to cross the strait without its authorisation, while Washington has responded by imposing a naval blockade on Iranian ports.
In September, Iran initially proposed a seven-day plan through Qatar, under which Tehran would reopen the strait on the sixth day after the United States met its demands.
The demands include an end to the Middle East war on all fronts, the unfreezing of Iranian assets held abroad, the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector and an end to the US naval blockade.
In an interview with Al Jazeera released on Sunday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Washington must accept a new shipping route through the strait agreed upon by Iran and Oman.
He also called on the United States to lift sanctions imposed in recent months and reduce its military presence in the region.
Since August, Washington has introduced a fresh round of sanctions as part of what it described as an effort to impose “economic asphyxiation” on Iran.
Meanwhile, the United States and Israel have intensified threats in recent days to resume attacks on Iran amid crucial elections in both countries.
On Saturday, US President Donald Trump said he still had to “take care” of one or two targets, including Pickaxe Mountain in central Iran, which is suspected of housing a nuclear facility. Tehran denies that the site is a nuclear facility.
Warning against any further military action, Baqaei said Iran would respond forcefully to any attack.
“Any act of aggression against Iran, any military attack against Iran, by whatever means, will be met with a powerful, immediate and comprehensive response from us,” he said at a Foreign Ministry briefing on Monday.