Tehran says its offer to reopen Hormuz in seven days is still on the table

Iran’s offer to the United States to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days remains on the table, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said, according to Reuters¹ and The New Arab². Arab News reported that Iran has proposed reopening the strait if Washington agrees to specific conditions, and that acceptance could also restart talks between the two governments³.

Tehran has attached a further requirement: renewed talks would need “credible guarantees” against new attacks, Anadolu reported⁵. An Iranian army spokesperson put it more bluntly, saying the strait will reopen “if America leaves the region”⁴. These are Iran’s own terms as relayed by its officials, and the reports do not establish that it can or will deliver a reopening on them.

The offer follows the mining of a second supertanker in the strait, announced by Iran’s Revolutionary Guards⁵. In the same period Dubai officials said a drone impact had started a fire near the emirate, according to a live report of the conflict⁶.

Washington’s answer

Trump said Iran “wants a deal,” but not one he would accept, according to that live report, which also noted the White House has called on other nations to help secure the strait⁶. War Secretary Pete Hegseth said on 17 October that Iran must abandon its nuclear ambitions and negotiate an agreement or face military action⁷. He warned of “devastation” and accused Iran of funding Hezbollah and Yemen’s Houthi militia, saying Washington had sought to deter attacks on US forces and shipping⁸.

A separate account of the same remarks says Hegseth accused Tehran of financing armed groups across the Middle East, naming Hezbollah and the Houthis⁹. US Central Command released photographs on Saturday showing air force personnel preparing a KC-46 refuelling aircraft⁴.

Why it matters to investors

Two prices hang on this standoff: crude, and the cost of moving and insuring it. Russia’s deputy prime minister, Alexander Novak, warned that the Hormuz crisis could drive oil prices higher¹⁰, and the conditions Tehran has set are ones Washington has publicly rejected^6,7.

The gap between the two positions is the whole of the risk. Iran is asking for guarantees and a US withdrawal from the region^4,5; the administration is demanding an end to the nuclear programme under threat of force^7,8.

What to watch

Whether any channel opens on Araqchi’s conditions^1,3; whether Hegseth’s ultimatum is followed by military action⁷; and whether the guarantees Iran is asking for are ever discussed⁵.