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Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States takes initial steps toward easing military pressure and lifting its blockade on Iranian ports, a senior Iranian official told Reuters and Japan's Kyodo News on Tuesday.
The proposal has already been conveyed to Washington through mediators, according to the official, who said it calls for renewed talks aimed at reaching a permanent end to hostilities between the two countries.
"The U.S. needs to announce that it wants to resolve the issue diplomatically, make that official, and then agree on a timeline for how the process will move forward," the official told Reuters, adding that the Iranian delegation to the U.N. General Assembly is in New York with full authority to revive diplomacy with the U.S.
The official said details of an agreement to end hostilities with Washington could be discussed in New York via mediators, noting Tehran's proposal was delivered to the U.S. through mediators on Sept. 16.
"The UN General Assembly is a golden opportunity for the U.S. to return to diplomacy," the official said, adding that Tehran would welcome a revival of diplomacy if Washington takes tangible steps.
Tehran plans to use this week's UN gathering to consult with countries acting as intermediaries.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who left Tehran for New York on Tuesday morning, will not meet U.S. President Donald Trump at U.N. headquarters, the official said.
Still, the official told Kyodo News that progress toward an agreement remains possible. "There is a possibility of moving toward an agreement," the official said, though Washington must demonstrate "seriousness and commitment" if diplomacy is to advance.
According to the official who spoke to Kyodo News, the new initiative has been approved by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and Iran's Supreme National Security Council, the country's top security body.
Iran is seeking signs that Washington is prepared to return to negotiations and take steps toward ending the U.S. military blockade of Iranian ports and halting military operations related to the Strait of Hormuz; if such steps are taken, Iran is prepared to reopen the waterway within seven days and return to the negotiating table, the official said.
Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said Saturday that Tehran had presented Washington with seven conditions, including an end to the port blockade and the unfreezing of Iranian assets.
The official who spoke to Kyodo News did not say whether the latest proposal represented a partial relaxation of any of those conditions.
Tehran's growing emphasis on diplomacy comes as restrictions on its ports squeeze crude oil exports, one of the country's main revenue sources, while the prolonged confrontation continues to disrupt maritime traffic through Hormuz.
According to the official, the Supreme National Security Council decided on Aug. 16 that Iran would retain the option of carrying out another attack on U.S. forces if Washington failed to lift the port blockade within 45 days, a deadline now approaching.
The war began in late February after the U.S. and Israel launched attacks on Iran, prompting Tehran to retaliate with strikes on Israel and other regional countries hosting U.S. assets.
After agreeing to a Pakistan-mediated ceasefire in April, the U.S. and Iran signed the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) in June, giving both sides 60 days to negotiate a long-term agreement.
That process broke down amid renewed hostilities and unresolved disputes, with the U.S. reimposing its military blockade of Iranian ports and Iran closing the Strait of Hormuz; commercial shipping through the waterway remains far below prewar levels, and the two sides have since engaged in intermittent exchanges of attacks, raising concern over a full-scale resumption of hostilities.
On Sunday, Iran's military central command said it had been informed the U.S. is preparing to restart military operations with the support of regional countries, warning this would lead to Tehran's retaliation "without limitations and considerations."
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