New Delhi: Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said Iran is ready to negotiate a peace deal with the United States to end the ongoing war, but will continue to defend itself against attacks. He said Tehran has put forward a seven-day plan to end the fighting and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, a key shipping route for the world’s oil supplies.
In an article he wrote for the Financial Times he said, “How can we trust a US president again?” He cited attacks on Iran in June 2025 and February 2026, when, he said, the two sides were engaged in negotiations. He added that Iran was attacked again in June this year, shortly after US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed an agreement.
Araghchi said Iran had sent its seven-day plan to the US through mediators during the recent United Nations General Assembly. Under the proposal, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen on the sixth day, while talks on a final agreement to end the conflict would begin on the seventh day. He said the plan would not require the US to do anything it had not already agreed to.
He also said the war had increased costs for American households. Citing Moody’s, he said the conflict had cost US consumers an estimated $265 billion this year, or about $2,000 per household, with rising energy prices accounting for roughly half the amount.
Araghchi said the Strait of Hormuz remained essential to the global economy and that Iran intended to protect the waterway and ships using it lawfully.
He said the US had not achieved any of its publicly stated goals in attacking Iran after almost eight months of war. He warned that further attacks around the Strait of Hormuz or elsewhere in the region could put civilians, countries in the region and the global economy at risk. “Iran, an ancient and proud civilisation, does not bend its knee to any power.” he wrote.
Araghchi said Iran was willing to resume diplomatic efforts if the US showed it genuinely wanted an agreement to permanently end the conflict. He added that if Washington chose military action over talks again, it would face a greater strategic failure.
“That said, Iran is prepared to give diplomacy another chance if we see strong evidence of a sincere desire on the part of the US to achieve a just and honourable solution to permanently end this conflict,” he wrote.
(Edited by Viny Mishra)
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