Ulyanov: Iran’s Hormuz Proposal ‘Pragmatic and Constructive’
VIENNA (Dispatches) --
Russia’s envoy to international organizations in Vienna, Mikhail Ulyanov, described Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as “pragmatic and constructive” on Saturday, while noting that the initiative now rests with Washington.
“It seems Iran’s proposal is pragmatic and constructive,” Ulyanov wrote in a post on X. “We need to see how the United States will react?”
The Russian diplomat’s remarks came a day after Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi outlined a seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz during a press briefing in New York on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. The proposal was conveyed to Washington through Qatari intermediaries.
According to the plan, the seven-day deadline begins once the United States accepts the conditions, which Tehran has said were previously communicated and fall within the framework of the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding — the June 17 agreement signed after Pakistani and Qatari mediation.
Iran’s conditions reportedly include an end to the terrorist wars on Tehran, the lifting of U.S. sanctions on Iranian oil, the release of frozen Iranian assets, and an end to the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports.
The Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump had rejected the proposal.
The Strait of Hormuz, a vital chokepoint for global oil shipments, had remained open until February 28, when joint U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran triggered a terrorist war of aggression against the Islamic Republic.
Iran closed the waterway during the war and later reopened it after the Islamabad MoU was signed, before closing it again following the U.S. violation of the agreement.