Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the seven-point agreement plan his country presented to the United States was "extremely reasonable" and warned that rejecting the proposal without justification would be a mistake for Washington.
Araghchi made the remarks in an interview with NBC News on Sunday. The Iranian minister said the proposal had been conveyed to the United States through mediators and that he had learned that US President Donald Trump opposed the plan, but that Tehran had not yet received an official response.
Iran's demands
Araghchi said Iran's main demands included the release of its frozen funds and assets and permission to sell its oil. He argued that the United States had assumed these obligations in agreements it had previously signed.
During the United Nations General Assembly meetings, the Iranian delegation presented the United States with seven conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with Qatar acting as a mediator. Trump said on Saturday that he had not accepted Iran's conditions.
Message on diplomacy
Araghchi said Iran was fully prepared to counter a new "attack" and resume the war. At the same time, he said they were also ready for diplomacy and stated that the decision rested with Trump.
Araghchi claimed that the United States had been waging war for eight months without achieving results and argued that new attacks would meet the same outcome. Although the Iranian minister said the United States had attacked Iran repeatedly while negotiations were under way, he stressed that no diplomatic opportunity for peace should be missed.
Dispute over the Strait of Hormuz in negotiations
Following the United Nations General Assembly meetings, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian returned to his country, while Araghchi was scheduled to remain in the United States until September 30.
Negotiations between the United States and Iran are stalled because of disputes over maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz. Reopening the strait, which is strategically important for global energy and goods shipments, is at the center of Iran's seven conditions.
As US attacks on targets in Iran continue following the clashes that began on February 28, Tehran has also carried out attacks against Israel and some locations in the region. Araghchi said thousands of people had lost their lives during this period and that, despite the deadlock in negotiations, the parties had signed a memorandum of understanding in mid-June.
