Iran's Araghchi Met Qatari Mediators in New York, Awaiting Washington's Answer on the Hormuz Plan

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Qatari mediators in New York on Monday to discuss fresh ideas for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, days after President Trump rejected Tehran's original seven day plan as unacceptable, in the latest turn of an indirect negotiation that both sides describe as ongoing even as a formal deal remains elusive. Al Jazeera's report on the meeting quoted Araghchi saying "we talked about ideas and how to find solutions to fulfil Iran's conditions and how to implement those conditions," adding that the Qatari side "had some ideas, and we had a discussion that they will also present to the American side."

A response expected by Tuesday

Araghchi told reporters he expected to receive Washington's response to the latest round of ideas by Tuesday, but said he planned to return to Tehran within hours rather than remain in New York to wait for it, a choice that underlined how little Iran expects the exchange to move quickly toward a breakthrough. His original proposal, first reported days earlier, called for the strait to reopen within seven days in exchange for the United States lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waiving sanctions on Iranian oil sales and observing a broader regional ceasefire, terms Trump dismissed on Saturday as an attempt by Tehran to get relief "because they're losing so badly."

Washington's real condition

A US official quoted by Al Jazeera made clear that the nuclear question, not the strait itself, remains the sticking point for the Trump administration, saying no agreement is possible "unless Iran's nuclear programme is addressed" even while acknowledging that Tehran had shown some flexibility on nuclear matters. The same official described the substantive gap as one of timing and sequencing rather than principle, with Washington prepared to relieve sanctions and release frozen Iranian funds only once nuclear progress is locked in, an order of operations Tehran has resisted throughout the talks.

A blockade Washington is in no hurry to lift

American officials have signalled they see little reason to rush, with one telling reporters the United States holds "a very strong position with control of the Strait," a waterway through which nearly forty million barrels of oil moved in a recent forty eight hour period despite the blockade. NBC News's coverage of the standoff quoted Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian arguing a resolution was still possible "through negotiations, not the use of force," while cautioning that Iran does not fully trust talks with Washington after past rounds of diplomacy collapsed.

Positive, constructive, and still unresolved

Both sides continue to describe the indirect exchange through Qatari and, at times, Pakistani mediators as "positive and constructive," language that has accompanied months of talks without yet producing an agreement either government is willing to call final. With Araghchi already back on a plane to Tehran and Washington weighing its answer, the latest exchange of ideas looks less like the breakthrough either side has publicly hoped for than another incremental step in a negotiation that has repeatedly promised progress just out of reach.