IRAN said yesterday that its Two-Day Plan to restore security in the Strait of Hormuz remains on the table, a day after Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Washington to either accept it or ‘choose war’.
‘American voters have made their choice. Time for the White House to make its own,’ Araghchi wrote on X on Sunday.
If the United States meets Iran’s requirements, including an end to war on all fronts, ‘you will see results.
‘Or choose war, and see our alert and battle-hardened warriors rain down hell.’
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told a press conference yesterday that the plan was the ‘most rational’ offer available, and that security could return to the waterway within two days if the US meets Iran’s demands.
These are: an end to hostilities on all fronts; the lifting of the US naval blockade and sanctions; and an end to ‘Operation Economic Outcast’ – all before negotiations begin.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has called these demands ‘very strange, ridiculous, and completely unrealistic’.
‘These are neither unlawful nor irrational demands,’ Baghaei said. ‘What is irrational and absurd is the US attacking Iran in the middle of negotiations.
‘By any logic, norm or standard by which this action is judged, the US attack was not merely absurd, unlawful, and irrational; it was criminal.’
The Strait stayed open until the US and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February, when Iran closed it.
Under the Islamabad memorandum of understanding signed in June, the two sides agreed a 60-day reopening.
However, American violations forced Iran to reimpose the closure.
Vessels must now coordinate with Iranian authorities, Baghaei said. ‘As long as the US continues its interventionist and illegal actions, we will not witness restoration of security and safety in this waterway,’ he said.
President Donald Trump has threatened new strikes, telling reporters ‘anything is possible’.