Mediation and Competing Positions
Araghchi described the meetings as part of an existing exchange of messages through Qatari and Pakistani mediators, which he said had taken on "a more serious form" since Iran submitted its proposal. Asked whether he would remain in New York, he said he would fly to Tehran within hours, adding that the Qataris know how to deliver any response.
The Iranian plan, announced on Friday at the United Nations General Assembly, calls on the US to release frozen Iranian funds, lift sanctions and end its naval blockade of Iranian ports. Araghchi said those steps could be completed within four or five days, allowing the strait to reopen and negotiations on a final agreement, including the nuclear programme, to begin by the seventh day.
US President Donald Trump rejected the proposal on Saturday, calling it "unacceptable". Speaking to reporters on Monday, he said US officials had also spoken with mediators and insisted Washington would prevail, adding that gas prices would fall once the US won the war.
