Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz will be reopen within seven days if the U.S. meets "certain conditions."
Speaking to press on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly, Araghchi said such a scenario will also herald renewed talks.
"The conditions we have asked the U.S. to meet are nothing new, nothing more than what was already in the Islamabad MOU, which was signed by the U.S. President," he added, in reference to the June agreement that kicked off nuclear talks but quickly fell apart as hostilities around the key waterway resumed.
Oil prices retreated on Friday morning after soaring on Thursday. Brent crude, the international benchmark, dropped 1.43% and stood just above $105 a barrel at 8:08 a.m. ET, while West Texas Intermediate, the U.S. benchmark, fell 2.27% and clocked in at $92.46 per barrel at the same time.
A recent report claimed that Washington and Tehran are discussing a deal to end hostilities and gradually reopen the waterway. However, the talks still face challenges because neither side wants to take the first step, Reuters detailed, citing a source familiar with the conversation.
An Iranian official said a way out would be them taking partial steps, with Iran allowing unrestricted traffic to resume while the U.S. lifts its blockade of the country's ports and allows Tehran to access frozen assets.
Trump has called the initial talks "productive." "I think there's a lot of momentum for them to make a deal. That's what we are hearing from everybody," he added earlier this week.
Secretary of State of State Marco Rubioalso claimed that discussions were positive, but were not a major breakthrough, adding that the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is an impediment to any deal.
Both parties have also doubled down on threats at the same time.
Iran said President Donald Trump's most recent threats against the country if a deal to end the war is not reached soon are a sign of "strategic desperation."
Iran's General Staff said on Wednesday that "such words demonstrate America's strategic dead end in its aggression against the Iranian nation, and the repetition of baseless claims and threats, given the exhaustion of the U.S. military, is not a sign of power but a sign of their strategic desperation."
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also challenged the U.S. during his address to the UNGA, saying the country "seeks no one's permission to defend itself."
