Iran offers two-day Hormuz reopening if US meets demands

Iran said on Monday, November 2, that it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if Washington accepts its terms. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the earlier seven-step plan had been "condensed and can be implemented within two days," Al Jazeera reported. He also said no deal would happen while the US naval blockade remained in place. The offer came one day before the US midterm elections, as concern grows that the war could escalate again.aljazeera.com

"The ball is in the U.S. court, because our demands have been stated very clearly and transparently, and Iran's demands are reasonable and logical," Baghaei said, according to CBS News.cbsnews.com

A shorter timeline

Iran first sent the US its plan through Qatar in September. That version laid out a seven-day process, with the strait reopening on the sixth day, and President Donald Trump rejected it, Daily Sabah reported. On Saturday, October 31, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Qatar had suggested five days and Tehran had proposed two. Under the shorter plan, the US would take a series of steps on the first day. On the second day the strait would reopen and shipping would return to its earlier conditions, CBS News reported.dailysabah.com+1

Iran's main demands are the release of frozen assets abroad, the lifting of oil sanctions, and an end to the fighting on all fronts. That includes Israel's fighting with Hezbollah in Lebanon and with Hamas in Gaza. Daily Sabah reported further demands. They include a new transit route through Hormuz agreed between Iran and Oman, removal of sanctions imposed in recent months, and fewer US troops in the region. In return, Iran would reopen the waterway to commercial shipping and commit to more talks on its nuclear program.cbsnews.com+1

Mediators trade messages

Baghaei said Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi went to Doha so Iran and the US could exchange messages through Qatar, and that the exchange is still going on. An official briefed on the talks told Reuters that Iranian negotiators had left Doha on Sunday, but not because the talks were in trouble. The official said a draft proposal was being circulated and a follow-up meeting was possible.aljazeera.com+1

Iran has claimed control of Hormuz since the war began in late February and has regularly attacked ships that try to pass without its permission. Washington answered with a naval blockade of Iranian ports.dailysabah.com

Threats on both sides

Trump said on Sunday that the war would end "very soon, one way or the other," adding: "Either they'll make a deal, or we'll just end it." He has said one or two targets remain, including a suspected nuclear site at Pickaxe Mountain. Baghaei warned that any new attack "will be met with a powerful, immediate and comprehensive response," and said Tehran did not expect the midterms to "give birth to a new U.S.".cbsnews.com+1