Seeking talks, Iran offers to open Hormuz if US ends blockade, curtails military threat

In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian waves to media and officials as he boards his plane while leaving Mehrabad airport for New York to attend the UN General Assembly, in Tehran, Iran, September 22, 2026. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)
In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian waves to media and officials as he boards his plane while leaving Mehrabad airport for New York to attend the UN General Assembly, in Tehran, Iran, September 22, 2026. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP)

Iran can reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days if the United States eases military pressure and lifts its blockade on Iranian ports, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Tuesday.

On Sunday, Iran’s military central command said it was informed the US was preparing to restart military operations with the support of regional countries, and warned this would lead to Tehran’s retaliation “without limitations and considerations.”

“The US needs to announce that it wants to resolve the issue diplomatically, make that official, and then agree on a timeline for how the process will move forward,” the senior Iranian official says, adding the Iranian delegation to the United Nations General Assembly is in New York and has full authority to revive diplomacy with the United States.

Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian, who left Tehran for New York on Tuesday morning, will not meet US President Donald Trump at the UN headquarters in New York, the official tells Reuters.

The Iranian official says details on an agreement to end hostilities with Washington can be discussed in New York via mediators, explaining that Tehran’s proposal was delivered to the US via mediators on September 16.

“The UN General Assembly is a golden opportunity for the US to return to diplomacy,” the official says, adding that Tehran would welcome a revival of diplomacy if Washington takes tangible steps.

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