Iran’s offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days remains on the table, Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday, urging the United States to accept Tehran’s proposal amid stalled negotiations.
Araghchi said Tehran was reviewing the US response to its proposal but maintained that reopening the strategically important waterway was possible if Washington accepted Iran’s conditions.
The foreign minister was in Baghdad for the Council of Foreign Ministers session, a regular meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, which is held annually.
Araghchi told reporters that the Strait of Hormuz could reopen within six days if US agreed to Tehran’s conditions, with negotiations resuming the following day.
But in his remarks, the foreign minister accused Washington of failing to demonstrate the sincerity needed to reach an agreement.
While in Baghdad for the meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, he said: “Our conditions are entirely clear and have been presented to the United States in the form of a seven-day plan.”
Speaking to media, Araghchi said Tehran was reviewing Washington’s response but remained dissatisfied with the US position.
He also questioned Washington’s willingness to reach an agreement, adding that the path to reopening the strategic waterway was clear if the United States acted honestly.
“The Americans have submitted their views, and we are still responding to them. In our view, the seven-day plan remains on the table. If there is any sincerity on the American side – which there is not – the path forward is clear: if they meet those conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will reopen on the sixth day, and negotiations will begin on the seventh day,” he stressed.
The proposal places the reopening of the waterway and the restoration of security there at the centre of the negotiations, while the two sides remain divided over a broader agreement.
Iran’s latest statements suggest that the two sides have yet to bridge the gap between Washington’s nuclear demands and Tehran’s insistence on addressing the maritime crisis first.
A key disagreement between Tehran and Washington concerns Iran’s nuclear programme.
While Araghchi has maintained that a Hormuz reopening agreement remains possible within days, progress will depend on whether the US is willing to address Iran’s conditions and whether both sides can resolve their differences over the nuclear issue.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical passage for global energy supplies. Its continued closure has raised concerns over energy shipments and the wider economic consequences of prolonged disruption, leaving the future of negotiations between Tehran and Washington closely tied to the waterway’s reopening.
Greek minister of maritime affairs and insular policy Vasilis Kikilias said the war in the Persian Gulf has a decisive impact on the global economy.
Kikilias pointed out that “a conflict that begins in the field of geostrategy and geopolitics does not simply disappear from one moment to the next. I remember leading analysts and technocrats, through newspapers, television networks and news websites, assuring us about five years ago that the war in Ukraine would start and end within a few days.”
As the Greek minister said, “Almost five years have passed and the war continues. This was followed by the huge crisis in the Middle East. And the situation, as you all see, I think today it is getting worse instead of improving.”
