Saudi Arabia and the UAE Press Washington Not to Ease the Iran Blockade

The decision by the United States to resume talks with Iran on the margins of the United Nations General Assembly has met resistance from inside the Gulf. Kommersant reported that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates oppose concessions to Tehran, and that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman told American officials the naval blockade should stay in place until Iran signs a new agreement.

Iran has since put a concrete number on the table. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in New York, including the New York Times and the Guardian, that Tehran has submitted a formal proposal for a seven-day halt to hostilities across the region, including in Lebanon, the release of at least $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets, the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil, and an end to the US naval blockade. Under the plan, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz on the seventh day of the truce and begin broader talks with Washington. Araghchi said the seven-day clock would start only after Washington formally approves the terms, and that Tehran is still awaiting a US response, while claiming China supports the proposal. A White House official told CNN the two sides are having "positive and constructive discussions through intermediaries."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian used his New York appearances to signal openness to talks, though Deutsche Welle judged the chance of a breakthrough on the war to be low. Israeli business daily Globes reported that Pezeshkian told NBC that Iran wants an agreement with Washington to end the war before the American midterm elections in November.

Domestic messaging inside Iran remains firm. Iranian state news agency IRNA quoted the Friday prayer leader of Kish as saying that the Islamic Republic seeks an honourable peace but has no fear of war, a formulation aimed at a domestic audience as negotiators talk.