Iran says it will reopen Strait of Hormuz within 7 days if US lifts blockade
The offer is conditional on an end to the US blockade, which remains in place, Kyodo reports.
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Map: The Gulf and Hormuz, marking Strait of Hormuz
UpdateTuesday, September 22, 2026 at 5:00 AM ET
A senior Iranian government official told the Trump administration that Iran will open the Strait within seven days if the US meets a list of demands, Kyodo reports. Rezai, secretary-general of Iran's Supreme Security Council, said on the 19th that the list includes seven conditions, among them lifting the port blockade and unfreezing Iranian assets. Iran plans to use the proposal as the basis for talks with mediating countries at the UN General Assembly in New York. The official also said Iran's economy is under growing strain, with crude exports, a pillar of national revenue, blocked, and concern spreading within the leadership over the need to resume talks with Washington.
Iran says it will reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States lifts its blockade, Kyodo reports. The condition has not been met, and the blockade remains in place.
The statement comes as US and Iranian officials prepare for talks in New York this week, with Qatar working to broker a deal. Trump said Monday that Iran "is not doing well" and that he had held meetings on the matter that day.
Tensions in the Strait remain active. A tanker there was hit by an unknown projectile as officials prepared for the New York talks, and Iran's Revolutionary Guard has threatened a wider war if the US escalates.
Oil prices had steadied on Monday after an eight per cent drop over four days, with shipping through the Strait showing signs of easing as the talks approached. Iran's conditional offer complicates that calm. The condition it sets, an end to the US blockade, is unresolved and contentious even as diplomatic channels stay open, and it adds downside risk to the tentative stabilization in energy markets should the talks stall or tensions rise again.