Daijiworld Media Network - Tehran
Tehran, Sep 28: Iran has proposed a seven-day plan under which the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened on the sixth day and nuclear negotiations with the United States resumed on the seventh, but Washington has rejected the proposal over Tehran's demand for sanctions relief and access to frozen Iranian assets.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran was ready to reopen the strategically vital shipping route if the US ended the conflict, lifted its blockade, released Iranian assets and allowed Iran to resume oil sales.
"Our proposal is very clear. We are ready to open the Strait if certain things are done by the US," Araghchi told NBC's "Meet the Press".
"We want our moneys, our assets, which are illegally frozen, to be released. We want to be able to sell our oil," he said.
Araghchi said the measures sought by Tehran could be completed within four or five days, after which the Strait would reopen on the sixth day and negotiations on a broader agreement would begin on the seventh. The timetable would start once Washington accepts the proposal.
"If they want -- if they are serious that they want a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, now there is the possibility," Araghchi said, adding that Iran had already put the seven-day plan on the table.
US President Donald Trump, however, said on Saturday that he had rejected the Iranian proposal.
"They want to make a deal where they open the strait immediately because they're losing so badly," Trump said. "But we're winning tremendously. We have total control of the Hormuz Strait."
US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said the proposal required Washington to make major concessions before substantive negotiations could begin.
"They were asking for everything up front," Waltz told CNN's "State of the Union".
Waltz said Iran was seeking relief from US and UN sanctions as well as access to billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets. He said Washington was not convinced that Tehran was negotiating in good faith or genuinely prepared to reach an agreement on its nuclear programme.
Waltz also accused Iran of violating an earlier memorandum of understanding by attacking international shipping. Tehran has disputed the US account and maintains that Washington violated previous agreements.
Araghchi, meanwhile, said Iran was still awaiting an official response through mediators despite Trump's public rejection of the proposal.
"At the same time, we are ready for diplomacy," he said. "But now there is a very reasonable plan on the table. If they reject it with no reason, this is their fault."
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian separately told CBS' "Face the Nation" that Tehran was prepared to proceed in stages under a framework based on the earlier memorandum.
"Obviously, we will abide by whatever we commit to," Pezeshkian said.
Pezeshkian also indicated that Iran could negotiate limits and inspections on its nuclear programme within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and other existing agreements. He blamed the US and Israel for attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities.
"Within the framework of the NPT and the other existing frameworks, all of these issues are matters that can be agreed upon," he said.
Araghchi said Iran remained prepared for a possible resumption of military action while keeping diplomacy open.
"We are fully prepared for the war to be resumed," he said. "But at the same time, we are ready, we stand ready for diplomacy. It is up to President Trump to choose."
Despite Trump's rejection of the proposal, he has indicated that US negotiators could hold further discussions with Iran in the coming days.