Iran has put forward a seven-day proposal aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and restarting negotiations with the United States to end the wider conflict, a development that could ease one of the most significant disruptions to global oil and gas shipping in recent months. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the proposal was conveyed to Washington through intermediaries during diplomatic contacts on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Under the proposal, Iran would reopen the strategic waterway within seven days if specified conditions are met, with negotiations subsequently resumed on a broader settlement, including issues surrounding Tehran’s nuclear programme. Araghchi said the conditions were broadly consistent with a memorandum of understanding reached by the two sides in June.
The proposal comes after months of severely restricted shipping through the Strait, a chokepoint through which an average of about 20 million barrels per day of crude and oil products moved in 2025, representing roughly a quarter of global seaborne oil trade. The IEA has described the Strait as one of the world’s most critical oil transit routes, with limited alternative export capacity available to bypass it.
For the oil market, the significance of any reopening would extend beyond the physical restoration of tanker traffic. A sustained return of vessels through Hormuz could ease pressure on crude and refined-product supply chains, reduce shipping constraints and begin to unwind some of the risk premium associated with the prolonged disruption. The IEA has previously linked the conflict and the near-halt in Hormuz traffic to major disruptions in global oil supply and higher prices for crude and petroleum products.
The proposed arrangement, however, remains subject to negotiations and conditions that have yet to be resolved. Reports indicate that Tehran has sought an end to the US naval blockade and other measures as part of the process, while Washington has continued to demand conditions relating to Iran’s nuclear activities.
The nuclear issue remains central to the diplomatic impasse. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has maintained that Tehran will not pursue nuclear weapons while insisting on Iran’s right to peaceful nuclear technology. Washington, meanwhile, has sought safeguards intended to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.
The Strait’s reopening would also have implications for liquefied natural gas markets. The IEA estimates that about 93 per cent of Qatar’s and 96 per cent of the United Arab Emirates’ LNG exports transit Hormuz, together accounting for about 19 per cent of global LNG trade.
For Nigerian oil-market participants, the immediate significance lies principally in the potential effect on international crude and refined-product pricing, freight and market risk. Nigeria’s crude exports do not depend directly on the Strait of Hormuz, but developments around the chokepoint can influence global benchmarks and trading conditions that feed into the wider international oil market.
The proposed seven-day roadmap therefore represents a potentially significant diplomatic development for energy markets, but its commercial impact will depend on whether the parties can agree the conditions required for a sustained reopening. Until then, the Strait remains a critical watchpoint for crude, products, LNG and tanker markets.