Iranian officials said on Thursday that the country was negotiating with the United States on a one-page proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and suspend hostilities for 30 days as they try to forge a broader peace agreement.
According to three senior Iranian officials, the plan has three central points: an end to the American blockade of Iranian ships and ports, the resumption of commercial traffic in the strait and a cessation of fighting. They spoke on condition of anonymity as these were sensitive negotiations. The US government did not comment.
The main impasse in reaching this initial deal is the future of Iran’s nuclear enrichment program and its stockpile of highly enriched uranium, the Iranians said.
According to these sources, the US wants Iran to commit, in principle, to handing over its entire stockpile and suspending enrichment for 20 years. Tehran, on the other hand, proposes diluting part of the uranium, sending the rest to a third country — possibly Russia — and interrupting the program for a shorter period of time, between 10 and 15 years.
As diplomacy progressed, the already fragile ceasefire was tested again on Thursday night, with Iranian state media reporting explosions and the activation of air defenses in Tehran, the capital. State TV also reported explosions in the south of the country, near the Strait of Hormuz.
Businesspeople, consumers, politicians, shipowners and other agents around the world are closely following any sign of progress. The conflict, which is now entering its third month and has led Iran and the United States to impose rival blockades on the Strait of Hormuz, has choked off one of the main oil flow routes, disrupted global supply chains and put pressure on energy prices.
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The two sides have been holding a shaky ceasefire for the past month as both sides claim control over the strait.
See other developments:
— Explosions in Iran: State media reported several explosions on the island of Qeshm and the city of Bandar Abbas, two important Iranian maritime hubs in the Strait of Hormuz. Two Iranian officials said the UAE launched the strikes in retaliation for Iranian drone and missile strikes this week. The UAE did not comment.
— Ship attack: Iranian diplomats also denied on Thursday that the country’s armed forces had participated in an explosion that caused a fire on a South Korean cargo ship on Monday. In a statement, the Iranian embassy in South Korea once again warned against vessels crossing the Strait of Hormuz without Iranian authorization and suggested that responsibility for “unintentional incidents” lies with “the parties that insist on transiting” without this approval.
This article was originally published on The New York Times.
