Iran offers Trump fast Hormuz deal tied to sanctions relief

Iran used the UN meeting to send Washington a new proposal to end the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days. The offer revives indirect diplomacy but leaves core disputes over sanctions, shipping and military pressure unresolved.

In Short

• Indirect US-Iran talks resumed in New York after months of silence
• Tehran wants frozen assets released and its port blockade lifted
• Iran says restored shipping could steady markets and ease military pressure

Iran used the UN gathering in New York this week to press a fresh proposal to the Trump administration aimed at ending seven months of fighting and reopening the Strait of Hormuz within seven days. In return, Tehran wants the US to end its military blockade of Iranian ports, release frozen Iranian assets and waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions that largely mirror those in the June deal that quickly fell apart.

The week also brought the first indirect talks between the two sides in months, but public messaging remained sharp. US President Donald Trump warned at the UN on Tuesday that he would "annihilate" the Islamic Republic, while Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said a day later that Iran would fight "until our last breath". In his final seconds, however, Pezeshkian said Tehran remained open to diplomacy. Early on Saturday, Trump posted a map of the vital waterway on social media and called it the "Trump Strait", while Iranian state media said Pezeshkian was heading home.

The US said its envoys and Iranian officials held three hours of indirect talks through mediators on Tuesday, the first such contact since the previous agreement meant to end the fighting and start nuclear talks collapsed within days of being signed in June. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that the latest talks were good and that Washington was open to more.

Behind closed doors on Thursday, on the sidelines of the UN meeting, Iran's top diplomat described Tehran's new proposal to the US. At the centre of it are issues that have frustrated both sides. Iran said reopening the Strait of Hormuz, which it asserted control over after attacks by the US and Israel, would calm global markets and reduce pressure on the US military, which has been guiding commercial ships through the waterway amid the risk of Iranian attacks.

For Tehran, the lifting of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports and a waiver on sanctions covering oil sales would allow it to export more crude and offer some relief to an economy hit by record currency lows and surging inflation. The proposal's main difference from earlier failed efforts is its faster timeline, with Iran's pitch saying a quick deal could help Trump ahead of the November midterm elections.

In a sign of Tehran's urgency, Pezeshkian met the Prime Minister of Qatar, which is mediating the indirect talks, early on Friday. "The choice now rests with the United States," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told journalists later that evening. The White House said only that US officials were having positive and constructive conversations with mediators.

Tehran has also spent long weeks in discussions with Oman, across the strait, on how to manage shipping traffic. Analysts said Iran's latest push reflects its reading of the US political calendar. Danny Citrinowicz, a senior researcher at Israel's Institute for National Security Studies, wrote on X on Saturday: "Washington may believe that time is on its side: Maintain pressure through November, avoid another major military escalation before the midterms, and reassess afterward. Tehran may reach precisely the opposite conclusion."

Trump has said he is in no rush for a deal as US sanctions continue to strain Iran's economy, and the White House has not given any further explanation of his "Trump Strait" post. There was also no immediate sign that Araghchi had left New York, while in Iran the security forces warned that they still had targets left to strike, leaving the week with indirect contact restored but no agreement in place.

With PTI Inputs

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