Iran said on Monday that the seven-step ceasefire plan it put to the United States last month still stands but has been condensed, and could now be implemented within two days rather than a week if its conditions are met. The plan includes a swift reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a return to talks on Iran's nuclear programme.
"If Iran's demands are met, it is possible that both security will be restored to the Strait of Hormuz and the negotiation process will begin within a short period of time," Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said, adding that it all depended on how Washington chose to proceed. Tehran's conditions include lifting the naval blockade of its ports, repealing sanctions, a guarantee that strikes will end and a full regional ceasefire, especially in Lebanon. Baghaei gave no sign that Iran had changed its demands or that the US had accepted the proposal.
Iran's state news agency reported that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei had given the government powers to speed up talks with the US. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, speaking in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, said Tehran was ready for both diplomacy and military confrontation, and that without acceptance of its terms "the current situation will continue and Iran will not bow down". Qatar and Pakistan are facilitating indirect talks between the two sides.
President Donald Trump has said the negotiations are "going fine" but has suggested several times that the US could strike Iran after the November 3 midterm elections. On Sunday he said the war would end "very soon one way or the other", with Tehran either making a deal or the US ending it.