Strait of Hormuz, Iran awaits US response on proposal to reopen

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Qatari mediators in New York to discuss a proposal for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. Araghchi told Iranian state media that the mediators will bring the discussed ideas to the United States and he hopes to receive Washington's final response by Tuesday.

The Iranian proposal, announced on Friday at the UN General Assembly, calls on the US to release frozen Iranian funds, lift sanctions, and end the naval blockade of Iranian ports. Araghchi stated that these steps could be completed within four or five days, allowing the strait to reopen and negotiations on Iran's nuclear program to begin by the seventh day. However, a US official told Al Jazeera that there will be no agreement unless Iran's nuclear program is addressed.

The current crisis stems from Iran's decision to close the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic maritime passage through which about one-fifth of the world's oil transits. This move was a response to increasing economic and military pressures from the United States, which has imposed severe sanctions and established a naval blockade against Iran.

Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been escalating for years, primarily focusing on Iran's nuclear program. The United States and its allies fear that Iran is developing nuclear weapons, while Tehran insists on the peaceful nature of its program. Diplomatic talks have broken down multiple times, with mutual distrust preventing significant progress. The current proposal represents an attempt to break the deadlock through third-party mediators such as Qatar and Pakistan, but the fundamental issue remains who should take the first step: Iran demands economic relief before reopening Hormuz, while the US wants the strait reopened first.