Iran Offers to Reopen Strait of Hormuz Within Two Days if US Demands are Met

TEHRAN: Iran on Monday said it was ready to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if Washington agrees to conditions, as US President Donald Trump issued his latest war threat at a rally for midterm elections. A senior Iranian official said the offer to open the vital energy corridor , which follows intense efforts by mediators to stop a return to war, showed "good faith". Tehran has blockaded Hormuz since the war started in February, sending energy prices soaring and posing an electoral challenge for Trump. The narrow gateway to the energy-rich Gulf normally carries one-fifth of global oil consumption. "The possibility of implementing this plan in two days is another indication of Iran's good-faith approach," foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei told reporters at a briefing. "We have stated that, if Iran's demands are met, it would be possible to restore security to the Strait of Hormuz and resume the negotiating process within a short period." In September, Iran proposed a seven-day plan to reopen Hormuz if the US agreed to demands including ending the war on all fronts, unfreezing Iranian assets, lifting oil sanctions and ending its counter-blockade of Iranian ports. Baqaei said messages were being exchanged with the United States via mediators, adding that "everything depends" on the US side accepting the Iranian demands. "Only then can we discuss the subsequent stages." During final rallies for the US midterms on Tuesday, where diesel prices and consumer inflation are a key issue, Trump struck a belligerent tone, warning Iran to expect "the hammer". "The only reason why I'm not finished with Iran is I want to be nice. I want to try and save all those lives if I can... But at some point we're going to have to give them the hammer," he told voters in Iowa.