Iran offers 2-day Hormuz reopening on its terms — sanctions relief, U.S. force pullback, frozen funds released — via Qatari mediators
What happened
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told Al Jazeera on Saturday, Oct. 31, that talks with Qatari mediators have produced a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days — but only on Tehran's terms. His stated conditions: lifting the sanctions imposed after the collapsed Islamabad memorandum (the June U.S.-Iran deal), reducing U.S. forces in the region, restoring waivers allowing countries to buy Iranian oil, and releasing all of Iran's frozen money (Al Jazeera's reporter cited $6 billion held in Qatar alone). Araghchi also addressed a letter from Vice President JD Vance — the back-channel outreach to Iranian hard-liner Mohsen Rezaei reported earlier this week — calling it a positive step but offering no concession on the conditions. As of publication, the White House had issued no public response to the two-day plan. On Friday, President Trump had said the war will end "very soon, one way or the other," without terms or a timeline, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Saturday that Trump has not yet decided on military action against Iran.
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