U.S. and Iranian negotiators meeting during the United Nations General Assembly in New York are weighing a phased agreement that could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and ease months of military and economic confrontation. The proposal would link restored shipping access to Washington relaxing its economic blockade against Tehran, according to officials familiar with the talks.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters that if certain conditions are met, “the Strait of Hormuz will be open at the end of seven days, and talks will be restarted.” He said the conditions are not new and reflect the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding, the June ceasefire arrangement between Iran and the United States that collapsed in early July. Iran has also signaled it may move its demand for transit fees into a separate agreement to simplify negotiations while preserving broader leverage.
The diplomatic signals weighed on oil markets. Brent crude futures for November delivery fell 1% to $105.56 per barrel, while West Texas Intermediate crude slid 1.8% to $92.94 per barrel. Open-source intelligence reports using Sentinel-2 satellite imagery indicated U.S. carriers and destroyers were no longer visible along earlier blockade positions in the Gulf of Oman and Arabian Sea. The USS Gerald R. Ford and its carrier group are also leaving after an 11-month deployment, while the USS George Washington, USS George H.W. Bush, USS Tripoli and several Arleigh Burke-class destroyers remain outside the original blockade zone.
The talks follow Iran’s claimed first operational use of the Qasem Basir anti-ship ballistic missile against American naval forces, a weapon Iranian media describes as having a range of around 1,200 km and a guidance system using electro-optical and infrared imaging to track moving ships.
Meanwhile, U.S. Ambassador to China David Perdue said President Trump has spent recent weeks warning Beijing against providing Iran any direct or indirect assistance, including intelligence, parts or military equipment. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Fox News that Tehran does not want the war to continue and would agree to inspections of its nuclear program and uranium enrichment below certain thresholds, adding that “it’s America that must choose whether it wants to end this or not.”
