Iran offers to reopen the Strait of Hormuz under a seven-day plan in exchange for lifting the blockade and sanctions; Trump rejects the proposal

⏱️ Timeline

1. 25 Sep 2026, 05:21 Iran offered to open the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, as 80 countries at the United Nations demanded the restoration of freedom of navigation in the Gulf region.
2. 25 Sep 2026, 15:38 Iran offered the United States a new proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume broader talks toward a final settlement based on the memorandum of understanding, while informed sources said Washington is unlikely to return to the interim agreement and is pushing for a comprehensive deal covering the strait and the nuclear program. A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran will not offer any nuclear concessions even if Washington accepts its proposal.
3. 25 Sep 2026, 21:30 Tehran presented a formal proposal comprising its readiness to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz within six days in exchange for the United States lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports and releasing frozen assets, with nuclear talks beginning the day after the conditions are implemented, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meetings in New York where Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held meetings with US officials including Steve Witkoff. Araghchi said the seven-day initiative will begin as soon as the United States accepts the conditions, noting that the Strait of Hormuz will be opened on the sixth day of the plan's implementation.
4. 26 Sep 2026, 04:09 The Wall Street Journal reported that US President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian ceasefire proposal, while Washington and Tehran continue talks through mediators. The newspaper quoted US officials as saying Trump told his aides he is likely to resume strikes on Iran after the midterm elections in November. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran proposed a seven-day plan to end the war that includes reopening the Strait of Hormuz and starting talks on the nuclear program after the fighting ends, and he disclosed a meeting he described as fruitful with Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner in New York.
5. 26 Sep 2026, 07:27 Iran announced a seven-day plan it delivered to the United States through Qatar, including reopening the Strait of Hormuz if its conditions are met, halting hostilities in the Middle East, releasing 12 billion dollars in frozen Iranian assets, and lifting sanctions on Iranian oil. A US official confirmed constructive discussions through mediators, while Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stressed that the decision is now in Washington's hands.
6. 26 Sep 2026, 09:50 US President Donald Trump published a map of the Gulf region on which he showed the name "Strait of Trump" instead of the Strait of Hormuz, with Qatar and Bahrain absent from it, a step that followed his rejection of an Iranian proposal for a seven-day truce, reopening the strait and resuming nuclear talks in exchange for lifting the US naval blockade.
7. 26 Sep 2026, 16:50 US President Donald Trump announced his rejection of the Iranian proposal and said Iran had put itself in a bind by closing the Strait of Hormuz, that Washington is imposing on it the largest blockade in military history and fully controls the strait, and that oil is flowing through it and 29 ships left it yesterday. US sources told Al-Arabiya that Trump is inclined to carry out airstrikes on Iran after the elections along with tightening the blockade.
8. 26 Sep 2026, 17:20 The spokesman for Iran's armed forces said Iran will respond strongly and on a wider scale than in the previous two wars if the Americans make a new miscalculation, stressing that the forces are fully ready and stronger than they were in the last two wars. The official spokesman for the Iranian forces, Abu al-Fadl Shakarji, warned the United States and Israel against any new military move, vowing that the response this time will be "heavier, broader and more precise" than before, and affirming that the armed forces are 100 percent ready.
9. 27 Sep 2026, 07:12 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has seen US President Donald Trump's initial reaction to its proposal but has so far received no official response through the mediators, stressing that Iran's conditions are clear and that any move to reopen the Strait of Hormuz depends on meeting them. He said Tehran is awaiting a "final" response from the mediators, while a White House official said the two sides are holding talks.
10. 27 Sep 2026, 19:04 Navigation risks remain in the Strait of Hormuz after US President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the waterway; Iranian media reported explosions near Qeshm Island and the firing of anti-ship missiles and drones at ships crossing the strait, without official Iranian confirmation, and an Indian cargo ship was hit last week, killing a sailor. The Revolutionary Guard says the strait is closed to ships that do not coordinate with the Iranian authorities.
11. 27 Sep 2026, 21:21 US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said the Iranians "were asking for everything upfront" and conditioned their demands, including lifting sanctions and releasing billions of dollars in frozen assets, before entering negotiations, adding that Trump was not convinced Tehran would negotiate seriously about ending the war.
12. 28 Sep 2026, 10:00 US President Donald Trump said he does not know whether Tehran "will surrender yet," but described its situation as "very bad," while Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf affirmed that Iran will not back down. At the same time, Washington imposed sanctions on 13 individuals and entities, and the Iranian rial fell to a new record low, as Tehran awaits a US response on the Strait of Hormuz proposal.
13. 29 Sep 2026, 07:49 Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced that he met a Qatari mediator in New York and discussed with him ideas to be put to the US side regarding Tehran's conditions for opening the Strait of Hormuz, with the final US response to be conveyed to Iran, expressing hope it arrives on Tuesday. He said Iran's "seven-point plan" was conveyed to Washington through a Qatari mediator. US President Donald Trump denied that he had offered Iran sanctions relief or the release of its frozen funds, in response to an Axios report.
14. 30 Sep 2026, 09:25 Reuters reported that Qatar handed Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi the US response to the seven-day plan proposal, and that Iran will study the response today, noting that the main dispute between Washington and Tehran is not about the plan's components themselves. Iran's state-linked Fars news agency quoted government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani as saying Araghchi received the US response to the proposal presented by the Qatari mediator, without disclosing any details.
15. 1 Oct 2026, 18:21 Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced Tehran's openness to dialogue with Washington, while the Iranian leadership studies the US response to the ceasefire proposals. This coincided with US President Donald Trump's threat of military strikes after the midterm elections, and with Iranian military leaders affirming their readiness and continued discussions in the National Security Council.

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