Iran offers US deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz in seven days
Asked about the Iranian offer, a US official said discussions were taking place through mediators.
Iran has put forward a deal to the US that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, according to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Araghchi said at the UN in New York that "the choice now rests with the United States" and that the strait could be reopened "if the necessary conditions are met". He said those conditions were set out in the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed in June to extend a ceasefire that later collapsed.
When asked about the Iranian proposal, a US official said positive talks were under way through mediators, including on nuclear matters, Reuters reported. Earlier this week, Donald Trump threatened to "annihilate the Islamic Republic".
The US and Israel carried out air strikes on Iran on 28 February. Iran replied by attacking Israel and US bases in the Gulf and Arab Gulf allies of the US, as well as blocking the Strait of Hormuz.
Before the war, about 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas moved through the strait, and its closure has triggered sharp price swings.
It has also increased pressure on Trump to find a way to end the conflict, especially as the US moves toward Congressional elections in November.
"If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened, a normal maritime passage restored within seven days. The choice now rests with the United States," Araghchi told reporters.
He did not say what actions Iran wanted the US to take, but added that "the actions that the United States should take are not new. They are all already in the MOU".
The MOU between the US and Iran, signed on 18 June, was intended to produce a ceasefire and at least partly reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
The 14-point agreement said Iran would never have a nuclear weapon. It said the US, Iran and allies would end military operations on "all fronts" and included measures such as ending a US naval blockade and providing sanctions relief. It also said Iran would "make arrangements using its best efforts for the safe passage of commercial vessels" through the strait and would hold talks with Oman on future shipping arrangements.
But it soon fell apart when both sides resumed strikes.
Iran has attacked vessels it says tried to cross the Strait of Hormuz without authorisation.
The US has struck Iranian sites in the strait, as well as Iranian tankers off the country’s coast. It has also kept up a blockade of Iranian ports, causing major disruption to the Iranian economy.
Trump has since said the US has been successful in getting oil out through the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Yemen’s Houthis, allied to Iran, have recently stepped up attacks aimed at disrupting oil exports from Saudi Arabia through the Red Sea on the other side of the Arabian peninsula.
In his speech at the UN General Assembly this week, Trump said he believed an Iran deal, which has so far eluded him, would come after November’s elections.
"Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before?" he said.
"Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? Do I drive them into hell?"
On Friday, Araghchi said Iran did not accept "coercion, threats or intimidation" and added that "peace cannot be built through threats of annihilation".