Iran-US backchannel talks push Hormuz reopening amid sanctions standoff

Mediators are trying to secure an Iran-US understanding to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt fighting. Any breakthrough would ease pressure on oil markets, but nuclear demands still divide both sides.

In Short

• Qatari and regional mediators are shuttling between Tehran and Washington
• Draft proposals pair reopening the waterway with lifting a US blockade
• Washington wants nuclear inspections first, while Tehran disputes timing and sequence

Mediators are working with Iran and the United States to try to broker a deal to end the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to three regional officials and two US officials who spoke to The Associated Press. The indirect talks are continuing despite major hurdles between the two sides.

The conflict is now in its eighth month and has caused global economic damage while badly hurting Iran. Efforts to ensure safe shipping through one of the world’s most important waterways have repeatedly failed. US President Donald Trump is open to a non-military resolution if one can be reached, a senior US official said, but another US official said Washington will not agree to a deal with Tehran until nuclear issues are addressed.

The officials said the discussions have continued even after Trump initially said he rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the strait within a week if the US lifted its blockade of Iranian ports, released frozen Iranian assets and waived sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who remained in New York after last week’s UN General Assembly gathering, is due to meet Qatari mediators on Monday on the latest discussions, Iranian state media reported, citing Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei.

The US official said Trump is willing to offer sanctions relief and release some frozen funds in return for concrete progress on nuclear issues. Iran has indicated it is flexible on nuclear issues, the official said, but the two sides remain far apart on timing and on which side should move first. All the officials were not authorised to comment publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity about the behind-the-scenes diplomatic negotiations.

Two of the regional officials said mediators are working on a proposal that would first reopen the Strait of Hormuz and lift the US blockade, followed by the removal of sanctions. Under the draft text being discussed, the strait would reopen under a separate arrangement Iran has been discussing with Oman, on the other side of the waterway. The plan would include no tolls, something Tehran has been seeking, and would temporarily manage shipping traffic on what was seen as an international waterway before the war.

One regional official said the US is seeking Iranian concessions on nuclear issues, including allowing inspectors into the country. Under a memorandum of understanding signed in June and then collapsed within days, Iran’s nuclear programme was to be discussed over a 60-day period. US officials said Washington remains sceptical about whether Iran can be persuaded to meet Trump’s conditions and whether Tehran would honour any promises, especially after it broke the interim deal by firing on commercial ships in the Strait of Hormuz. The officials added that the US believes its position is strengthening as Tehran feels the impact of sanctions.

Iran’s latest proposal broadly mirrors the June deal, but with a faster timeline. Araghchi told a closed-door meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly last week that Tehran had presented the proposal as one that could benefit Trump in the midterm elections. He later told journalists that, "the seven-day timeline will start as soon as the United States accepts this plan." Araghchi also met UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Monday, and the UN chief’s office said he welcomed diplomatic efforts in the past week to end the conflict and urged both sides to keep talking.

Both countries have been under economic pressure. The US has been hit by high oil prices as Iran attacks ships in the strait, while Iran has been squeezed by the naval blockade and growing US sanctions that have restricted its oil sales. Brent crude, the international benchmark, is above USD 108. For months, both sides have tried to outlast each other, while countries in the region have faced missile and drone attacks as Tehran says it is targeting US military assets.

A statement on Monday attributed to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei reflected Tehran’s impatience, referring to the "painful blows" suffered by enemy forces near the strait and adding, "Before long, the Arabian Sea, too, will be rid of them." Iran’s latest proposal again called for an end to the fighting on all fronts, including in Lebanon. But in recent weeks a new front has opened in Yemen, where Iran-backed Houthi rebels are positioned near the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea, adding to pressure on global energy markets. Iran says the Houthis have their own demands and that their conflict with Saudi Arabia is separate from the US-Iran war, but Iranian officials have said they are willing to help find a settlement between the Houthis and the Saudis.

The talks under way seek to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, ease the wider conflict and address sanctions and nuclear issues, but officials say the two sides still differ sharply on the terms and the sequence of any deal.

With PTI Inputs

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