Iran and U.S. press mediators on Hormuz as nuclear deadlock holds

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Qatari mediators in New York on Monday to advance Tehran’s plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, while a U.S. official said Washington will not end the seven-month war unless Iran’s nuclear programme is addressed.

Araghchi said the Qataris would carry ideas from the meeting to the United States and that he hoped for a final reply by Tuesday before returning to Tehran. Iran’s proposal, unveiled Friday at the UN General Assembly, calls for frozen funds to be released, oil sanctions lifted and the naval blockade of Iranian ports ended within four to five days, with nuclear talks starting by day seven. President Donald Trump rejected the plan on Saturday as “unacceptable.”

A U.S. official told Al Jazeera the indirect talks were “positive and constructive” but that the sides remain apart on timing and sequencing. Trump said Monday U.S. officials had also spoken with mediators and insisted Washington would “win.” Iran closed the strait—which handled about 20 per cent of global oil and gas before the February 28 U.S.-Israel offensive—and oil has traded above US$100 a barrel. Middle East crude exports rebounded in September to about 12.8 million barrels a day, still well below February’s 18.8 million, according to Kpler data cited by Reuters.