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UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume talks on its nuclear program in seven days if the United States lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waives sanctions on Iranian oil sales and observes a ceasefire that would include Lebanon.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi detailed the proposal to reporters outside the U.N. Security Council on Friday, saying it would also restart stalled talks with the U.S. on Iran's nuclear program.
"The seven-day timeline will start as soon as the United States accepts this plan," he said.
Araghchi said initial steps would take about four to five days to complete, and the strait would be open on the sixth day. "And on day seven, the talks with the U.S. will be started for the final deal on mutually agreed subjects," he said, referring to the nuclear program.
Iran's disruption of the strait -- through which a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas transited before the war -- has emerged as its main point of leverage. The effects have been felt far beyond the Middle East and posed political problems for President Donald Trump and his Republican Party ahead of November's midterm congressional elections.
The White House said only that U.S. officials are having positive and constructive conversations with mediators on the Iran war. In response to questions, it said the U.S. is facilitating significant oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz.
There was no immediate comment on the proposal from Gulf Arab nations, although a person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, told The Associated Press that Saudi Arabia was skeptical of the latest push for a deal.
The proposal, conveyed to the U.S. by Qatar, strongly resembles an interim deal reached in June, but with an accelerated timetable. The earlier agreement, which called for a 60-day interim period, quickly collapsed as Iran resumed attacks on shipping in the strait.
Trump has said he is in no rush to reach a deal, even as high oil prices fuel inflation. On the Iranian side, there are questions as to whether the hard-liners who dominate the security forces would accept compromises championed by moderates like President Masoud Pezeshkian.
"If Trump calculates this arrangement is worthwhile and can bring political benefit before the midterms and reduce gas prices, perhaps we'll see flexibility not seen in previous weeks," said Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute think tank.
But he noted "deep suspicion," especially around the prospect of Iran merely buying time to ship out more of its oil and ease its economic pain.
In the latest sign of diplomatic movement, Pezeshkian hosted the prime minister of Qatar early Friday. Qatar has been a key mediator, including during indirect Iran-U.S. talks at the U.N. this week.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that "if there's an opportunity to exchange ideas and messages, we will."
After multiple failed attempts at a deal, however, suspicion is high on both sides. The U.S. and Israel have attacked Iran twice while it was engaged in nuclear talks, and the U.S. and Iran accuse each other of having swiftly violated the June agreement.
"The Iranians already know that the chances of this not being accepted by Trump are much higher than the opposite," Hamidreza Azizi, senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, wrote on X.
"They want to show that they were ready for diplomacy and that it was the United States that, for the third time, decided to attack in the middle of a diplomatic track -- something that people within (Iran's) strategic community have been anticipating over the past few days," he said.