Iran's foreign minister told the United Nations General Assembly in New York that Tehran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz to normal shipping within seven days if Washington accepts a new package of conditions, reviving hopes of an off-ramp from a war that has run for more than seven months. The offer, detailed by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, was transmitted to American officials through Qatari mediators, according to Al Jazeera's reporting from the talks.
Under the plan, the United States would lift its naval blockade of Iranian waters, waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales, unfreeze Iranian assets held abroad and observe a ceasefire across every active front, including Lebanon. In exchange, Iran would reopen the strait — through which roughly a fifth of the world's oil passes — and resume negotiations over its nuclear program, including new access for international inspectors.
The response from Washington was cool. U.S. officials quoted by the Wall Street Journal and cited in CBS News' rolling coverage of the war said President Trump is "skeptical" Iran would meet his terms and told aides he expects U.S. strikes to resume once the November midterm elections are over. A U.S. official said the administration is "not in a rush" to strike a deal.
A Blockade Reshaping Global Oil Flows
The numbers behind that confidence are significant. Nearly 40 million barrels of crude oil transited the strait under U.S. Navy escort in a 48-hour span this month, officials said, while 122 commercial vessels have been redirected around the chokepoint since the blockade began. The disruption has rattled energy markets and forced shippers to reroute tankers around the southern tip of the Arabian Peninsula at extra cost and delay.
Iran's latest proposal largely mirrors the collapsed June memorandum, but adds a new wrinkle: the possibility of jointly managing the strait alongside Oman under an agreed framework, a detail that could give Gulf neighbors — and Washington — more confidence that any reopening would hold. Whether that offer is enough to move U.S. negotiators remains unclear; so far it has done little to change the administration's calculus.
The war traces back to February 2026, when Israeli and American strikes killed Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, a strike that upended the Islamic Republic's leadership and drew his son, Mojtaba Khamenei, into the role. A 14-point memorandum of understanding brokered in June briefly cooled the fighting and opened a 60-day window for negotiations, but it collapsed before a lasting deal could be reached, leaving both sides searching for terms neither has yet been willing to accept.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking to CBS News, said Tehran was ready to follow through if Washington agreed to the terms.
Despite "an atmosphere of distrust," Iran would "abide by whatever we commit to."
Masoud Pezeshkian, President of Iran
Mediators, Midterms and a Fragile Timeline
Qatar has served as the main channel between the two governments, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner named as the U.S. side's key negotiators, according to Al Jazeera's account of the talks. A U.S. official told the BBC that "constructive discussions" were continuing through intermediaries even as the White House publicly downplayed the offer.
Some analysts are skeptical Iran's offer is a genuine breakthrough rather than a pressure tactic. Urban Coningham of the Royal United Services Institute said Tehran was unlikely to win the sanctions relief it is seeking and described the seven-day plan as an attempt to put pressure on Washington ahead of the U.S. midterms, when Democrats currently hold a wide polling lead in the race for Congress.
For now, the strait remains disrupted and the ceasefire unresolved. Should Trump follow through on the resumption of strikes after November's vote, the window for a negotiated reopening could close quickly — leaving global shippers, energy markets and the wider region bracing for another escalation just as diplomats insist through Doha that a deal is still within reach.
