Araghchi: 7-Day Plan Starts “as Soon as the U.S. Accepts It” — Strait of Hormuz Opens on Day Six

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Friday in New York that the countdown for reopening the Strait of Hormuz begins as soon as Washington accepts the Iranian plan, insisting the actions required of the U.S. could be completed within four to five days.

NEW YORK — Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gave new details Friday about the Iranian seven-day plan for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, saying the day-count would start “as soon as the United States accepts this plan.”

“If they accept this plan tomorrow, the seven days start tomorrow,” Araghchi told reporters on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, according to live updates.

Araghchi said the U.S. is required to take “certain actions” which, he said, could be completed within four or five days. “The actions… are not new, they are all already in the MOU,” he said, referring to the Memorandum of Understanding signed by Iran and the U.S. in June. “We see no difficulty in implementing them.”

If Washington meets these conditions, the strait would open on day six and renewed talks with the U.S. would begin the following day. “If there is seriousness on the U.S. side to reach an agreement and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is already prepared,” Araghchi added.

Also on Friday, the Iranian chief diplomat said “the choice now belongs to the United States,” stressing that “Iran does not accept coercion, threats or intimidation. And Iran will not surrender its sovereign rights under pressure,” as reported by Reuters and Al Jazeera liveblog.

In the same set of remarks, Araghchi insisted that safe navigation in Hormuz “cannot be restored through further military actions, threats, blockades or economic coercion,” and dismissed as a “big lie” the claim that Iran is close to a nuclear weapon, reiterating that Tehran’s nuclear program remains “peaceful.”

Under Tehran’s proposal, the reopening of Hormuz would be accompanied by the end of hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon, while the U.S. would lift the naval blockade on Iranian ports, release frozen funds and remove oil sanctions. Just days earlier, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told Fox News that “it is up to the U.S. to choose” whether the seven-month war ends.