Iran's Foreign Minister Says Strait of Hormuz Could Reopen Within Six Days
Abbas Araghchi says talks with Washington would resume on the seventh day if the US meets Iran's conditions.
Published
Map: The Gulf and Hormuz, marking Strait of Hormuz
Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, says the Strait of Hormuz could reopen within six days if the United States complies with Iran's conditions, with talks to resume on the seventh day.
The offer echoes a pattern Tehran has repeated since September, each time tying a reopening to conditions the US has not accepted. A four to five day ultimatum and a seven day window both lapsed without a deal, and Washington rejected one such proposal outright.
On the water, the picture has not matched the diplomacy. On Thursday, an Iranian projectile sank the tanker GFS Pride in the strait, with all 21 crew rescued, while a second vessel, the GFS Giselle, suffered hull damage in the same attack. Iran's navy reported a separate tanker fire east of the strait the same day, and Iran told Hezbollah to raise its readiness as the attacks continued. On Saturday, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps reported another tanker had struck a mine in the strait, and Iran's military leadership said the waterway would stay shut until its conditions are met, a position echoed a day earlier by Iran's army chief. CBS News reported the White House was preparing plans for the GBU-43 'mother of all bombs' after a third tanker attack in the strait in two days.
Against that backdrop, the six-day timeline is a verbal offer rather than a confirmed step toward reopening. With the corridor contested by mines, tanker fires and a sinking, transit through the strait remains near zero, and traders have no accepted framework to point to that would change that before one is actually in place.