Iran proposes seven-day plan to end the war with the United States and Israel and open the Strait of Hormuz

Iran’s foreign minister said Thursday that Tehran had proposed to Washington a seven-day plan to cease hostilities, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and then begin comprehensive talks on his country’s nuclear program.

Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister, told reporters at a press briefing at the United Nations General Assembly that the proposal closely mirrored the commitments laid out in a so-called memorandum of understanding that was struck between the United States and Iran in June but quickly unravelled.

He said Iran was ready to begin putting the plan into effect as soon as Washington agreed to it.

“We have introduced a plan to the United States through the intermediators that if certain conditions are met, the Strait of Hormuz would be open on the end of the seventh day and talks would restart,” Araghchi said.

He said “it would be better” if a deal was reached before the US midterm elections.

A US official familiar with the talks said that the administration was having positive and constructive discussions through mediators, but that the United States was not going to rush into a deal.

The Iranian proposal came even as President Donald Trump and Iran’s president, Masoud Pezeshkian, delivered mutually hostile speeches at the United Nations.

Trump threatened Iran with “annihilation” if it did not strike a deal, while a defiant Mr Pezeshkian told world leaders his country would not be bullied.

Though Iran’s proposal contains many of the same conditions of the deal that fell apart, the behind-the-scenes diplomacy suggested that both sides may see much to gain from finding an off-ramp from the war.

Iranian officials said that while the proposal was effectively the same as the memorandum of understanding made in June, it was designed to move at a much faster pace. In the earlier agreement, a 60-day time frame was set for reaching nuclear negotiations.

Under the conditions that Iran has set for the agreement, according to Mr Araghchi, during the seven days all hostilities would end, including in Lebanon; the US would release Iran’s frozen assets, estimated at least $12 billion; waive sanctions on Iranian oil; and lift the naval blockade on Iran. Then, on the last day, the Strait of Hormuz would be opened.

After the seven days, Aragchi said, comprehensive negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program would immediately begin. Trump has said that his top goal is for Iran not to have a nuclear weapon, and that he would either achieve that through a diplomatic deal or with more attacks.

The United States and Iran have been at war for nearly seven months. It began in late February when the US and Israel launched airstrikes that killed Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and military chain of command. Trump initially said the war would take only a few weeks

The war has had widespread global repercussions including on oil, energy and food prices.

The Iranian proposal came as US negotiators have tried to jump-start diplomacy with Iran on its nuclear program through talks on the sidelines of the UN assembly.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said a three-hour meeting, mediated by Qatar, between US and Iranian officials did not end in a breakthrough.

Mr Araghchi met with US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, a son-in-law of Trump’s on Tuesday. It was mediated by Qataris passing messages between the two sides, and Mr Araghchi described it as “productive” and said the messaging continued.

Ismaeil Baghaei, the spokesperson for Iran’s foreign ministry who is also in New York, said that it was possible that there would be more mediated meetings in the coming days.

Iran’s economy is under serious strain, and Iranians are suffering from skyrocketing inflation on basic food items, a shortage of medicine and disruptions to commerce.

Analysts said that Trump would have to weigh the benefits of reaching a deal with Iran before the midterms against keeping a chokehold on its economy in the hope of getting more concessions from Tehran.

“This is a smart move,” said Ali Vaez, the Iran director of the International Crisis Group.

“They know it’s very tempting for President Trump because it ends an unpopular war and brings down energy prices in the run-up the midterms. But it also restores a deal that was largely favourable to the Iranians. A compressed timeline to get to the nuclear issue should be appealing to an impatient president.”