Hormuz could reopen within two days if the US meets Tehran's terms, Iran says, as Xi and Oman's sultan call for safe passage

Iran is ready to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if the United States accepts its conditions, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday 2 November, Euronews reported. Iran had proposed a seven-day timeline when it first put the plan to Washington through Qatar in September.

“The possibility of implementing this plan in two days is another indication of Iran’s good-faith approach,” Baghaei said at his weekly briefing in Tehran. “We have stated that, if Iran’s demands are met, it would be possible to restore security to the Strait of Hormuz and resume the negotiating process within a short period.”

Baghaei said messages were being exchanged with the US through mediators and that “everything depends” on Washington accepting Iran’s demands. “Only then can we discuss the subsequent stages,” he said, according to Euronews.

Iran’s conditions

Tehran’s conditions include ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian assets abroad, lifting sanctions on its oil sector and ending the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, Euronews reported. In an Al Jazeera interview released on Sunday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi added that Washington must also accept a new transit route through the strait agreed between Iran and Oman, reduce US troop numbers in the region and remove sanctions imposed since August, according to the same report.

Baghaei also warned that “any act of aggression against Iran, any military attack against Iran, by whatever means, will be met with a powerful, immediate and comprehensive response from us.” Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi travelled to Doha on Monday to help draft a preliminary agreement with Qatar acting as mediator, Euronews reported.

Xi and Sultan Haitham meet in Beijing

In Beijing on Monday, Chinese President Xi Jinping held talks with Oman’s Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, the first visit to China by an Omani sultan since the two countries established diplomatic relations 48 years ago, according to the joint statement.

“The Middle East Gulf region should not become an arena for great-power rivalry and geopolitical conflict. Peace and stability in the region require joint nurturing and protection by all parties,” Xi said, as quoted by China’s foreign ministry. He said China remained committed to helping end the US-Iran war, according to The National.

In a 20-point joint statement published by Oman’s foreign ministry, the two countries encouraged the United States and Iran “to pursue peaceful options, achieve a comprehensive ceasefire, prevent war in all its forms, return to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding and resume dialogue and negotiations as soon as possible, with a view to reaching a comprehensive agreement covering the nuclear issue”. They said it was “necessary to restore normal and safe navigation through the Strait of Hormuz” and agreed to maintain communication on the strait. The two countries also agreed to deepen cooperation in oil and gas, renewable energy, artificial intelligence and finance, including a local currency swap agreement.

Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Monday that China’s special envoy to the Middle East, Zhai Jun, would visit Iran, Oman and Saudi Arabia in early and mid-November, Reuters reported.

Other reaction

US Central Command said on X that Iran had deliberately hit residential areas, civilian centres and civilian sailors in international waters, and that its attacks had killed at least 20 people, rejecting Iranian claims that its strikes had targeted only military objectives, Euronews reported. Anwar Gargash, adviser to the UAE president, told the Manama Dialogue in Bahrain that “following Iran’s attack on us, trust was damaged”.

See also: Israel has completed preparations for renewed fighting with Iran, Israeli paper reports; Araghchi says the choice rests with Washington and Two tankers ‘exploded’ after striking ‘naval mines’ in the Strait of Hormuz, the IRGC Navy claims.