Iran says its offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days has not been withdrawn, even though talks with Washington have stalled. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi made the point this week.
An offer that has not moved
Tehran put the proposal forward in mid-September, after an interim ceasefire fell apart. It later acknowledged receiving an American reply. Iran’s security chief said last week that the talks had stalled because Washington had not addressed all seven of Iran’s conditions for reopening the waterway, Reuters reported.
The strait matters because of what has happened around it since late February, when U.S. and Israeli strikes on Tehran began the war. Iran has claimed control of the passage and regularly targets ships that cross without its permission. Washington answered with a naval blockade of Iranian ports. A British maritime agency said this week that a tanker and a container ship were hit by projectiles of unknown origin in the strait.
Warnings from both sides
Araqchi cautioned the United States against launching another military operation, saying Iran had come out of earlier attacks stronger. Vice President JD Vance, for his part, accused Iran of trying to disrupt global energy supplies and said fuel prices would fall once the war ended.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said President Donald Trump had given him full support for the mission to eliminate the Iranian threat “once and for all”. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps warned that any strike on the country’s energy infrastructure would bring a devastating response against Israel.
Oil prices fell in early Asian trading on Monday after Trump waived sanctions, restrictions and duties on Russia under the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act.
The Houthi front
The wider region is under more strain. Iran-backed Houthi forces have kept up attacks on Saudi Arabia. The Saudi-led coalition said it struck oil sites across western Yemen on Tuesday, Sanaa among them, and that it had earlier intercepted and destroyed two Houthi ballistic missiles fired at the kingdom’s east. Debris from intercepted missiles fell on residential parts of Riyadh, injuring four people, according to Saudi Civil Defense.
The U.S. State Department now requires government employees in Saudi Arabia to get special authorization from a chief of mission before using any airport in the kingdom. They may not travel within 20 miles of the Yemen border. Egypt has pledged Riyadh “all necessary and possible forms of support”.
In Yemen, more than 230,000 people have been displaced after weeks of escalating fighting, according to the International Organization for Migration.
On the Russian track, President Vladimir Putin has proposed a three-way summit with Trump and China’s Xi Jinping next month on the Ukraine conflict, The Wall Street Journal reported. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov confirmed that talks about a meeting were under way, but said there was no clear understanding yet of the meeting or its agenda.
Sources
- US-Iran war news: Putin proposes summit with Trump, Xi to negotiate Ukraine conflict; Iran says 7-day ceasefire offer still on the table – 10 key updates
- Saudis launch new strikes on Houthis; Iran-backed group threatens U.S. if it joins in
- Newsquawk Daily US Opening News – 12th October 2026 | Newsquawk
Photo: Foreign Ministry of Oman (OGL-om 1.0)
