Iran offers to reopen Strait if US lifts blockade and war ends, officials say

Iran has offered to end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz if the US lifts its blockade on the country and ends the war in a proposal that would postpone discussions on the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme, two regional officials said.

US President Donald Trump seems unlikely to accept the offer, which was passed to the Americans by Pakistan and would leave unresolved the disagreements that led the US and Israel to go to war on February 28.

With a fragile ceasefire in place, the US and Iran are locked in a standoff over the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passes in peacetime.

The US blockade is designed to prevent Iran from selling its oil, depriving it of crucial revenue while also potentially creating a situation where Tehran has to shut off production because it has nowhere to store oil.

The Strait’s closure, meanwhile, has put pressure on Mr Trump, as oil and gasoline prices have skyrocketed ahead of crucial midterm elections, and it has pressured his Gulf allies, which use the waterway to export their oil and gas.

The closure has also had far-reaching effects throughout the world economy, raising the price of fertiliser, food and other basic goods.

The Iranian proposal would push negotiations on the country’s nuclear programme to a later date. Mr Trump said one of the major reasons he went to war was to deny Iran the ability to develop nuclear weapons.

Two officials with knowledge of the proposal spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the closed-door negotiations between Iranian and Pakistani officials this weekend. Iran’s proposal was first reported by the Axios news outlet.

The offer emerged as Iran’s foreign minister visited Russia, which has long been a key backer of Tehran. It’s unclear what, if any, assistance Moscow might offer now.

Iran’s ability to choke off traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf, has proved one of its biggest strategic advantages in a war that has often boiled down to which side can take more pain.

Oil prices have risen steadily since the war began, and tankers full of crude became stranded in the Gulf, unable to safely pass through the strait to reach global distribution points.

On Monday, the spot price of Brent crude, the international standard, was trading at around 108 dollars (£79) per barrel, nearly 50% higher than when the war began.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Monday criticised the US for going into the war with what he said was no strategy.

“The problem with conflicts like these is always the same: It’s not just about getting in. You also have to get out,” Mr Merz said.

Iranians are stronger than previously thought at negotiating, he said, making it hard to end the conflict now.

“Letting the Americans travel to Islamabad, only to send them back without any results. An entire nation is being humiliated by the Iranian leadership,” Mr Merz said.

Stephen Doughty, the United Kingdom’s minister of state for Europe and North America, said while the UK does not support the US blockade, it supports working with the US and others to reopen the strait.

De-escalation and a ceasefire are also crucial, he said, stressing that Iran cannot be allowed to block the strait, attack its Gulf neighbours and develop nuclear weapons.

Mr Trump last week indefinitely extended the ceasefire the US and Iran agreed to on April 7, which has largely halted fighting, but a permanent settlement remains elusive in the war that has killed thousands of people.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday in St Petersburg, Russian state news agency Tass said.

Mr Putin praised the Iranian people as “bravely and heroically fighting for their sovereignty”, and said Russia would do everything possible to bring peace to the Middle East, Tass reported.

Appreciative of my gracious hosts in Oman.

Important discussions on bilateral matters and regional developments. As only Hormuz littoral states, our focus included ways to ensure safe transit that is to benefit of all dear neighbors and the world.

Our neighbors are our priority pic.twitter.com/QffTsjCWgW

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) April 26, 2026

Mr Araghchi said before the meeting in a video interview posted by Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency that it was “a good opportunity for us to consult with our Russian friends about the developments that have occurred in relation to the war during this period and what is happening now”.

The meeting came as Pakistan has been seeking to revive stalled talks between Iran and the US, and negotiations had been expected in Islamabad over the weekend.

Instead, Mr Trump called off a trip by his envoys and suggested the talks could take place by phone instead.

Over the weekend, Mr Araghchi made two stops in Pakistan and a visit to Oman, which shares the strait with Iran. He also spoke by phone with counterparts in Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

Iran wants to persuade Oman to support a mechanism to collect tolls from vessels passing through the strait, according to a regional official.

Oman’s response was not immediately clear.

The official, who is involved in mediation efforts, also said Iran insisted on ending the US blockade before new talks and that Pakistan-led mediators are trying to bridge significant gaps between the countries.

Mr Trump told journalists Saturday that after he called off a trip by his envoys to Pakistan, Iran sent a “much better” proposal.

He did not elaborate but stressed that one of his conditions is that Iran “will not have a nuclear weapon”.

Iran insists its programme is peaceful, but the US wants to remove Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium, which could be used to build a bomb, should Tehran choose to pursue one.

Since the war began, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran and at least 2,521 people in Lebanon, where fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group resumed two days after the Iran war started.

Another 23 people have been killed in Israel and more than a dozen in Gulf Arab states.

Fifteen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon, 13 US service members in the region and six UN peacekeepers in southern Lebanon have been killed.

The ceasefire between Israel and Hezbollah has been extended by three weeks. Despite the truce, both sides continue to strike each other, and Israeli forces have been occupying a buffer zone in Lebanon, demolishing some neighbourhoods.

Hezbollah has not participated in the Washington-brokered diplomacy.