Iran Says It Could Reopen Hormuz in Two Days. Read the Conditions, and the List Grew Over the Weekend

Iran said Monday that it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if the United States accepted its conditions, shortening a seven-day timeline it first proposed to Washington through Qatar in September, Euronews reported.

'The possibility of implementing this plan in two days is another indication of Iran's good-faith approach,' foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said. He added that if Iran's demands were met, 'it would be possible to restore security to the Strait of Hormuz and resume the negotiating process within a short period,' and that 'everything depends' on the U.S. side, according to Euronews.

<h3>The conditions</h3>

Tehran's conditions, as described by Euronews, include ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian assets abroad, lifting sanctions on its oil sector and ending the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.

In an Al Jazeera interview released Sunday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi added further requirements: that Washington accept a new transit route through the strait agreed between Iran and Oman, reduce U.S. troop numbers in the region and remove sanctions imposed since August, Euronews reported.

Taken together, those statements describe a two-day reopening that would follow, not precede, a broad set of U.S. concessions. Baghaei said only after the demands were met 'can we discuss the subsequent stages.' A senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday that nuclear talks could only begin afterward and that Iran would not accept Washington's 'excessive demands,' CNBC reported.

<h3>The context</h3>

Since the war broke out in late February, Tehran has claimed control over Hormuz, regularly targeting vessels that try to cross without its authorization, while the U.S. has imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, according to Euronews.

The offer came hours before the United States carried out what officials called defensive strikes on Iran's Qeshm Island, in the strait, ABC News reported. Baghaei had warned at Monday's briefing that 'any act of aggression against Iran, any military attack against Iran, by whatever means, will be met with a powerful, immediate and comprehensive response from us.'

<h3>The mediators</h3>

Iran's deputy foreign minister, Kazem Gharibabadi, traveled to Doha on Monday to help draft a preliminary agreement with Qatar mediating, Euronews reported. Qatari mediators then reportedly traveled to Tehran Monday night to discuss a draft that had been under negotiation for eight days, CNBC reported.

China said it was sending special envoy Zhai Jun to Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia to press all sides to halt the fighting, and President Xi Jinping said the Middle East and Gulf must not become an arena for great-power competition. Beijing and Muscat jointly called on Washington and Tehran to return to what Chinese state media called the 'Islamabad memorandum of understanding,' according to Euronews.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said Saturday that he had received a letter from Vice President JD Vance but had not yet replied, and that the U.S. would need to meet Iran's conditions before talks could begin, Euronews reported. Deputy parliament speaker Ali Nikzad said Iran would not enter nuclear negotiations under pressure.

<h3>Competing accusations</h3>

U.S. Central Command rejected Iranian claims that its attacks targeted only military objectives. In a post on X, CENTCOM said Iran had deliberately hit residential areas, civilian centers and civilian sailors in international waters, killing at least 20 people, according to Euronews. Those are CENTCOM's allegations; Iran's response to them was not included in the reporting reviewed.

In Bahrain, Anwar Gargash, an adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, told the Manama Dialogue conference that Abu Dhabi did not want a prolonged crisis with Iran but that trust had been lost. 'This damage was not caused by us. Rather, following Iran's attack on us, trust was damaged,' he said.

Israel, which has been a party to the conflict, is in political flux. Trump said Sunday evening that he and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had held 'very good' talks and discussed Iran, without elaborating, and Netanyahu's office has not commented, Euronews reported. Results of last Tuesday's Israeli election remain inconclusive.

<h3>The calendar</h3>

The diplomacy unfolds around the U.S. midterm elections on Tuesday. Wednesday is also the anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, and Tehran-organized demonstrations are expected, with billboards showing Trump behind bars erected in the capital, Euronews reported. Whether Washington responds to the two-day offer, publicly or through mediators, had not been reported as of Tuesday morning.