Iran has said it is trying to accelerate the ceasefire plan it has proposed to the United States, as the region braces for possible renewed fighting in the US-Israel war against the country.
Officials in Tehran said on Monday that the seven-step plan they put on the table last month remains the same, but could now be implemented more quickly. The proposal includes a swift reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and return to talks over Iran’s nuclear programme.
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The statement comes as Iranian officials continue negotiations with Qatari mediators in the latest effort to find a diplomatic path out of the eight-month conflict.
US President Donald Trump has said the latest negotiations were “going fine” but has suggested several times that the United States could strike Iran after the November 3 US midterm elections.
The offer from Iran remains on the table but has now been “condensed and can be implemented within two days” instead of seven, Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said.
“If Iran’s demands are met, it is possible that both security will be restored to the Strait of Hormuz and the negotiation process will begin within a short period of time,” Baghaei said. “All of this depends on how the American side wants to proceed regarding the future of this process.”
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has reportedly granted “powers” to the government to accelerate talks with the US to end the regional war, the state IRNA news agency said.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated that Tehran is prepared for both diplomacy and military confrontation, as mediators Qatar and Pakistan continue to facilitate indirect talks.
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“By accepting these conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened and negotiations will resume,” Araghchi told IRNA in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. “Otherwise, the current situation will continue and Iran will not bow down.”
Iran previously said the plan could be implemented within a week if the US met its conditions, which include lifting the naval blockade of its ports, the repeal of sanctions, and a guarantee of an end to strikes, and a complete regional ceasefire, especially in Lebanon.
Baghaei gave no indication that Tehran had changed its demands or that Washington had accepted its proposal.
Trump said the war on Iran will end “very soon one way or the other”, telling the Right Side Broadcasting Network (RSBN) on Sunday that Tehran would either “make a deal or we’ll just end it”.
