UNITED NATIONS, United States: Iran has given the United States a "concrete" seven-day plan to open the strategic Strait of Hormuz and the choice now rests with the US, Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters at the United Nations on Friday. "If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened, a normal maritime passage restored within seven days. The choice now rests with the United States," he said.
"The actions that the United States should should take are not new. They are all already in the MOU," he said, referring to the memorandum of understanding that Iran and the United States agreed in June. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran agrees on need to return to Islamabad understanding and honour commitments, He welcomed Chinese President Xi Jinping's support for return to Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MoU).
Pezeshkian said in a US television interview that it is for the United States to choose whether to end its war in Iran as Tehran does not wish to continue fighting. Pezeshkian took a defiant stand at the UN Wednesday, for which he travelled to New York, telling the world that Iran would not "bend at the knee" to Washington - even as US President Donald Trump acknowledged ongoing US-Iran talks.
"When we can resolve issues through dialog, we shouldn't resort to killing one another. But with the instigations conducted by Israel, they have imposed this war on us," he said on Fox News' "Special Report with Bret Baier." "But we do not wish to continue. It's America that must choose whether it wants to end this or not," he said in remarks translated by the broadcaster.
Pezeshkian insisted Iran was ready to strike a deal with Trump to end the conflict. "Why is it that within two weeks after the signing of an agreement, they chose to blow it up?" he said of the collapse of a shaky ceasefire. "If the current American government, within international legal frameworks, wishes to reach an agreement, fine.
If not, before the (US midterm) elections or after the elections, what difference does it make for us?" A senior Iranian official told The official said the waterway would remain closed until "all of Iran's conditions are met" by the United States. Under Iran's proposal, Tehran has offered to reopen the strategically vital Strait of Hormuz. Within seven days, hostilities would end on all fronts, including Lebanon, the US would lift its blockade on Iranian ports, release Iran's frozen funds and waive its oil sanctions, Iran's Foreign Minister Araghchi said on Thursday.
Qatar's foreign ministry said top diplomat Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, a mediator in the Middle East war, spoke on Friday with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian about de-escalation and conditions for dialogue. Pezeshkian invited Sheikh Mohammed to his residence where they "reviewed the latest developments in the region and the efforts being made to de-escalate tensions and create a conducive environment for dialogue", the foreign ministry said in a statement.
US President Donald Trump said Friday he had discussed the Iran war with visiting Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, following allegations that Beijing has been supporting Tehran. Asked if he thought there would be progress on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Trump replied: "I think we're going to do great." The US Ambassador to China David Perdue in a Friday CNBC interview said Trump reiterated to Xi that direct or indirect support for Iran was "totally unacceptable." Asked separately on Fox News if that meant China would stop assisting Iran, Perdue said Washington received assurances from Beijing on Thursday.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Iranian counterpart met on Thursday and Moscow said both agreed that only a diplomatic settlement could end tension in the Middle East. The head of Yemen's governing body on Friday called for a general mobilisation to counter the Iran-backed Houthis, as the group ramps up attacks on government forces and their Saudi backer. The UN Security Council on Friday condemned escalating attacks on Saudi Arabia by Yemeni Houthi fighters in a rare show of unity from the UN's top body.
"The members of the Security Council condemned, in the strongest terms, continued Houthi attacks against the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, including attacks impacting civilian and energy infrastructure, which have resulted in the injury of civilians, including women and children," said the president of the council, French UN envoy Jerome Bonnafont, delivering a joint statement. The council stressed the importance of upholding international law and freedom of navigation.
The body also "demanded the Houthis immediately cease their military escalation and their attacks impacting civilians and civilian objects," according to the statement. Colombia said it had cut diplomatic ties with Iran, the latest Washington ally in Latin America to sever links with the US arch-foe. Iraq's Erbil and Sulaimaniya airports suspended Iranian flights starting on Friday, two sources told A US-sanctioned oil tanker hijacked by Somali pirates last month has been rescued after being chased down and ambushed by maritime police, officials in the semi-autonomous Puntland region told Italian energy provider Eni said Friday it is setting a 30-day fuel price cap for 30 days initially to take some of the sting out of recent price rises.
"Eni has set a maximum price for fuels sold by Enilive at 2.19 euros per litre for diesel and 1.99 per litre for petrol," the Italian oil and gas giant stated. Britain's foreign minister met his Iranian counterpart on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York and told him his country would "not tolerate intimidation, thre.