Iran proposes two-day plan to reopen Strait of Hormuz

Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said on Sunday that Tehran has agreed to a two-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, cutting an earlier seven-day proposal, as an Iranian delegation continued talks with mediators in Qatar. Iran shut the strait to vessels belonging to or affiliated with Israel and the United States on February 28, after joint strikes on Iranian territory.

Under the two-day plan, Washington would take a series of compliance measures on the first day, the strait would open on the second, and traffic would return to its level before the conflict, Araghchi said, according to Africanews. The proposal is basically the same as the seven-day plan Iran put forward earlier, under which the strait would reopen on the sixth day if Iran's conditions were met and talks with the United States would resume on the seventh.

CNA and The Hindu reported that Iran said it was considering the two-day plan, while Africanews reported Araghchi as saying Iran had agreed to it. Al Jazeera reported that Araghchi described US outreach as a "positive step". NHK reported the delegation was in Qatar seeking to avert US strikes.

Araghchi said the United States must meet conditions set out in the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding. According to Africanews, they include fixing new navigation routes for the strait, releasing all frozen Iranian funds, ending regional wars including in Lebanon, lifting the naval blockade, restoring sanctions waivers for Iranian oil exports and lifting sanctions imposed by Washington after the memorandum was signed. He said a letter submitted by Iran contained further conditions that were not unreasonable, provided Washington showed sincerity and sought a peaceful solution. Talks between the two countries would resume only after the United States meets its commitments and the strait is open, he said.

Qatar and Pakistan, which have been mediating, put forward proposals shorter than Iran's seven-day timeline. One Qatari suggestion was to cut it to five days or fewer, Araghchi said, and the Iranian delegation discussed the idea during its visit.

The navy of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said in a statement on its Sepah News outlet on Sunday that two "violating" oil tankers, including a supertanker, were stopped by explosions after hitting naval mines in the strait in the preceding hours. It said the vessels were using an "unauthorized" route and had switched off their navigation and identification systems. The supertanker "suffered a massive explosion and is burning", the statement said.