NEW YORK: Iran has proposed a seven-day roadmap aimed at ending its war with the United States, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said, according to US media reports.
The proposal, conveyed to Washington through mediators earlier this week, calls for the implementation of conditions outlined in a memorandum of understanding reached between the two countries in June.
Under the plan, hostilities on all fronts, including Gaza and Lebanon, would end within seven days, The New York Times reported.
The United States would also release at least $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets, waive sanctions on Iranian oil and lift its naval blockade, according to the report.
Iran has proposed reopening the strategically important Strait of Hormuz on the final day of the seven-day period. Talks on Tehran's nuclear program would begin immediately.
The restrictions on maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz have become a major issue in the conflict because of their impact on global oil and gas supplies and the wider economy.
“We have introduced a plan to the United States through the intermediaries,” Araghchi told reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
The proposal closely resembles the June memorandum, but sets a much shorter timetable. The agreement brokered by Pakistan and Qatar on June 17 had provided a 60-day framework for negotiations, but collapsed within weeks as Washington and Tehran accused each other of violating its terms.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian separately said the United States must decide whether it wants to end the war.
“When we can resolve issues through dialogue, we shouldn’t resort to killing one another,” Pezeshkian said in an interview with Fox News that aired Thursday.
“We do not wish to continue. It’s America that must choose whether it wants to end this or not,” he said.
Pezeshkian had told the U.N. General Assembly a day earlier that Iran would not surrender to pressure from Washington, while U.S. President Donald Trump acknowledged that talks between the two sides were continuing.
A White House official told CNN that the administration was engaged in “positive and constructive discussions” through mediators, while The New York Times quoted a US official as saying Washington would not rush into an agreement.
An Iranian security source told Al Jazeera that further diplomatic engagement could be possible if Washington met Tehran's conditions.
Analysts, however, said the latest proposal did not necessarily signal major progress toward ending the conflict.
Qatar's Foreign Ministry said Friday that its top diplomat, Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani, had spoken with Pezeshkian about de-escalation and conditions for dialogue.
