Iran Says It’s Ready to Reopen the Strait of Hormuz

The Iranian regime indicated it is willing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in two days if the United States agrees to certain demands.

The war has entered its eighth month, and the Trump administration is considering heightened military action against the regime after the midterm elections.

From The New York Times:

Iran is prepared to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in two days if the United States agrees to a set of demands, its foreign ministry said on Monday, after a week of intensified negotiations to avert a return to war.

But those demands, which include the Trump administration lifting sanctions on Iran and releasing billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets, appear difficult for Washington to accept.

The foreign ministry’s spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, made the comments hours after President Trump had said at a campaign rally that he might eventually decide to give Iran “the hammer” if the two sides could not reach a deal to end the war.

Iran effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for oil and gas shipping in the Persian Gulf, after U.S. and Israeli forces attacked the country in February. That move roiled energy markets, and continues to shake the global economy.

American and Israeli military officials have been drawing up plans for renewed strikes on Iran after this week’s U.S. midterm elections. Iranian leaders have warned that, if the country were attacked again, its forces would expand their range of targets, and are they are now publicly considering a withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, which prohibits the development of a nuclear weapon.

Propelled by increasingly bellicose rhetoric from both Iran and the United States, Qatari mediators have been pushing to broker a last-ditch deal between the two countries.

In recent days, Iranian officials have signaled that those negotiations have made some progress, though Mr. Baghaei stressed that they were not at a point where Iranian negotiators were prepared to hold direct talks with their U.S. counterparts.

“If Iran’s legitimate demands are accepted and implemented, it would be possible to put the entire plan into operation within two days, restore security to the Strait of Hormuz, and initiate the negotiation process,” Mr. Baghaei told reporters on Monday. ⁠ “⁠The realization of this depends entirely on Washington’s will and decision.”

US and Iran resume ‘very intensive’ peace talks on ending war – as Trump threatens new strikes https://t.co/eJghh7a0y6 https://t.co/AEytugZkxj

— New York Post (@nypost) November 2, 2026

Meanwhile, tensions in the Strait of Hormuz have surged as Iranian forces continue disrupting global civilian shipping amid the conflict. The U.K. Navy’s Maritime Trade Operations center recorded 30 attacks in the waterway in October alone. 

The Iranian military is seeking to enforce its own authorized transit routes while rejecting southern lanes protected by the United States. The Iranian navy justified the attacks, saying, “These uncoordinated transits through high-risk areas have exposed and will continue to expose vessels and their crews to serious dangers.”

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