Iran has presented the United States with a specific seven-day plan to open the Strait of Hormuz and restore normal maritime traffic. This was stated by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during a meeting of the Council of Foreign Ministers of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in Baghdad, the Iranian Tasnim news agency reported.
“We presented the United States with a specific seven-day plan through Qatar. If the necessary conditions are met, the Strait of Hormuz can be opened and maritime traffic can return to normal within seven days. Now the choice is up to the United States“, Araghchi said.
According to him, Iran remains committed to safe shipping, but does not accept that it be restored through additional military pressure. "You cannot bomb a country, threaten to destroy it and impose a blockade, and then expect shipping security to return to normal," the minister was quoted as saying by Press TV.
What the proposal entails
Tehran has not published the full text of the plan, but Araghchi previously explained that the seven-day period would begin after Washington formally accepts the proposal. Iran expects the US to end military pressure, lift the naval blockade of Iranian ports and ease restrictions on Iranian oil exports.
The proposal also includes resuming negotiations between the two countries. According to the Iranian position, these steps are related to commitments set out in a memorandum of understanding signed on June 17 with the mediation of Pakistan and the support of Qatar.
Earlier, Araghchi indicated that if the plan is accepted, the American measures could be implemented within four or five days, the strait would be opened on the sixth day, and talks on mutually agreed topics, including Iran's nuclear program, would begin on the seventh.
Washington has already rejected the proposal
The Iranian announcement comes against a backdrop of conflicting signals from the US side. On September 26, President Donald Trump publicly described the plan as unacceptable. However, Tehran subsequently announced that it had received a US response through intermediaries.
On October 8, Araghchi said that Iran was considering Washington's position and expected to respond within a few days. Six days later, an Iranian official described the latest American response as insufficient, the Associated Press reported.
Sources: presstv.co.uk, apnews.com, aa.com.tr