Iran has once again conveyed its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz to the United States through Qatar, its mediator.

According to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency on the 28th (local time, September 28), Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who is visiting New York to attend the 81st United Nations General Assembly, told reporters, "We met with Qatari mediators again on Monday (September 28) to hold discussions," adding, "We talked about ideas that Qatar will propose to the US, and the US's final response will be delivered to us in the future."

Araghchi added, "The Qatari side had ideas and we discussed them. After they propose them to the US again, the US's final response will be delivered to us," and expressed hope that "this work will be completed by tomorrow (September 29)."

In particular, he stated, "Our proposal, known as the 'seven-point proposal,' was delivered to the US through the Qatari mediator," and added, "Despite the remarks by the US President, we stated that we are waiting for the official response of the US through the mediator."

Previously, Iran proposed to the US side that if the US fulfills seven conditions—including lifting the maritime blockade, returning frozen funds, a ceasefire on all fronts, and exempting Iranian crude oil exports from sanctions—it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days.

However, US President Donald Trump told reporters that he rejected the proposal.

He claimed that Iran is "losing so badly that they want to make a deal to open the strait immediately."

Following President Trump's rejection of Iran's proposal, mediator countries such as Qatar are known to have urged Iran to make nuclear-related concessions.

They have been pressuring Iran to make concessions regarding its nuclear program so that the US and Iran can avoid an all-out war and resume negotiations.

President Trump has attempted to reframe the current war back to its original goal of preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons.

In his UN General Assembly speech on the 22nd (September 22), he repeatedly emphasized the principle of a denuclearized Iran, stating that he would never tolerate Iran possessing nuclear weapons.

It is interpreted that President Trump, judging that the situation surrounding the Strait of Hormuz is unfolding to the US's advantage, is demanding specific nuclear concessions instead of accepting Iran's proposal regarding the strait.

However, evaluations suggest that the possibility of Iran accepting this is slim.

This is because Iran has grown accustomed to decades of US sanctions, and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) currently holds power, maintaining an ultra-hardline stance against the US.

Minister Araghchi also made it clear that Iran has no intention of making concessions on its nuclear program.

Regarding speculations from some quarters that Iran would show flexibility on the nuclear issue, Araghchi said, "That is completely untrue and I strongly deny it."

He added, "There is no flexibility whatsoever at this point, and no discussions on this have even taken place," emphasizing, "Right now, it is only about the Strait of Hormuz issue."

Araghchi reportedly met with President Trump's special envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner in New York on the 22nd (September 22), but no clear outcomes were produced.

The contact at that time was also reportedly in the format of indirect negotiations mediated by Qatar.

Araghchi emphasized, "A very important objective we pursued through our visit to New York is to inform the world about the state of war, particularly Iran's situation regarding the Strait of Hormuz," adding, "There are conditions emphasized by the Supreme Leader (Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei), and these conditions must be implemented for the Strait of Hormuz to be opened."

(Photo: Yonhap News)