Tehran says it is prepared to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week and begin nuclear talks one day later if Washington lifts restrictions on Iranian oil, releases frozen assets and agrees to end hostilities across the region.

By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.

Iran has presented the United States with a proposal that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days and rapidly restart nuclear negotiations, tying both steps to sanctions relief, the release of frozen Iranian assets and an end to the war on multiple fronts.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday that Tehran transmitted the proposal to Washington through intermediaries and is awaiting a U.S. response, according to The Guardian.

“We have introduced a plan to the U.S. through the mediators that if certain conditions are met, the strait will be open within seven days and talks will start,” Araghchi told reporters in New York.

Under the proposal described by Araghchi, the United States would lift sanctions restricting Iranian oil exports, release some of Tehran’s frozen assets and agree to end the war on all fronts, including fighting in Lebanon.

Iran would then reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week and begin negotiations over its nuclear program the following day.

Araghchi said he had discussed the initiative with China and that Beijing supported the plan.

The timetable would significantly accelerate the diplomatic process contemplated in an earlier U.S.-Iran understanding reached in June.

According to Araghchi, that agreement, which he called the Islamabad memorandum, envisioned a 60-day interval before negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program began. The conditions contained in Tehran’s latest proposal remain the same as those established in the June memorandum, he said.

Iran is simultaneously pursuing a temporary arrangement intended to restore some commercial shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Tehran says it has reached an agreement with Oman on a temporary maritime route and is prepared to register the arrangement with the International Maritime Organization.

Saudi Arabia had been expected to endorse the proposed route last week but withdrew its support as tensions increased with Iranian-backed Houthi forces in Yemen.

Araghchi said Tehran had asked the Houthis to stop their attacks but maintained that Iran does not control the group’s decisions.

Saudi Arabia has not approved the shipping arrangement.

Iranian officials nevertheless believe an agreement with Washington remains possible and that outstanding concerns surrounding the temporary route can be resolved, according to the report.

They also fear Israel could press President Donald Trump to reject Tehran’s proposal.

Israel could object to provisions allowing Iran to retain significant authority over navigation through the strait.

According to the report, Tehran wants to continue controlling maritime traffic through the waterway, including maintaining the ability to prevent some U.S. military vessels from passing.

Questions involving possible tolls or navigation fees collected by Iran and Oman would be settled at a later stage, Araghchi said.

Iranian officials are seeking an agreement before the U.S. midterm elections, with reopening the strait potentially reducing pressure on global oil and fuel prices.

The proposal comes as European governments also attempt to encourage diplomacy.

British Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband met Araghchi in New York earlier Thursday, marking the first meeting between British and Iranian ministers in a year.

The talks followed Britain’s decision in July to designate Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a national-security threat.

Miliband said Britain supports freedom of navigation through the Strait of Hormuz and favors a diplomatic resolution to the conflict.

He also raised British concerns about threats against Jewish communities in the United Kingdom and requested consular access to a British couple serving 10-year prison sentences in Tehran.

The Iranian proposal now places several interconnected issues before Washington at once: reopening one of the world’s most important energy shipping routes, restarting nuclear negotiations, easing sanctions on Iranian oil, releasing frozen assets and addressing fighting involving Iran and its regional allies.

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