DUBAI: Iran’s proposal to the United States to open the Strait of Hormuz within seven days is still on the table, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told local media on Sunday. Iran presented its proposal in mid-September after a temporary ceasefire collapsed. Tehran later acknowledged receiving a US response, but the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council said last week that negotiations were stalled because Washington had not responded to all seven conditions for opening the strait. “Our position is clear and based on the seven-day proposal presented to the United States.
They have made their observations, which we are reviewing, but our proposal is still on the table, and if there is any integrity on the American side, which there is not, then the path to opening the Strait of Hormuz is clear,” Araqchi said while in Baghdad to participate in a meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation. Iran’s conditions include, among other demands, lifting the American blockade on its ports, canceling US sanctions on its oil exports, and ceasing hostilities on all fronts in the region. He added that Washington’s acceptance of Tehran’s conditions would mean opening the strait within six days and resuming talks the following day.
One of the main points of contention is Washington’s insistence on addressing Iran’s nuclear program from the beginning of negotiations. US Vice President J.D. Vance said earlier this month that Iran must make a “tangible” reduction in its uranium enrichment capabilities to meet US demands and end the nearly eight-month-long war between the two countries. Tehran says that the first phase of negotiations should focus on opening the Strait of Hormuz, through which about a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas trade passed before the war, and restoring security in the waterway.
Source: www.arabnews.com
