Iran offers conditional seven-day plan to reopen Strait of Hormuz

U.S. President Donald Trump told the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday, September 22, that he faced a choice over whether to destroy Iran if it failed to make a deal to end the war in West Asia.

Trump framed the alternatives as an agreement allowing Iran to rebuild or the swift destruction of the Islamic Republic. His remarks described a decision he said he still had to make, while leaving open the possibility of an agreement.

As Trump began describing six months of intermittent military strikes against Iran, members of the Iranian delegation began walking out of the General Assembly. Only one person remained seated.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi were in New York for the annual meeting but did not attend Trump's speech. Lower-level staff and delegates attended instead, leaving about 10 minutes into the address.

U.S. President Donald Trump posted a map on Truth Social on Friday labeling the Strait of Hormuz “Trump Strait.” He had previously posted a map in August suggesting the waterway could become U.S. territory, and had publicly endorsed the idea of declaring it a territory.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said normal maritime passage could be restored within seven days if Washington accepted Tehran's conditions. The proposal calls for the United States to lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales and observe a ceasefire that includes Lebanon. Araghchi said the seven-day clock would begin upon U.S. acceptance.

Trump has argued that the blockade gives Washington control over the strait. He also said Iran could disrupt shipping by placing mines in the water, while maintaining that the U.S. blockade had been effective.

U.S. President Donald Trump has rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping within a week.

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday at the UN in New York that an agreement depended on meeting necessary conditions. He said those conditions were contained in a memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries in June.

The June memorandum was intended to establish a ceasefire and reopen the Strait of Hormuz at least partially.

The 14-point agreement stated that Iran would never possess a nuclear weapon. It also provided for the United States, Iran and their allies to end military operations on all fronts, alongside provisions to end a U.S. naval blockade and other sanctions.

The waterway normally carries around a fifth of the world's gas and oil supply. It has been effectively closed since war broke out in February.