Iran has a 2-day plan to reopen strait, resume nuclear talks with US

Iran said Monday it had a two-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks with the United States, shortening a process originally expected to take seven days.

Iran said it had a two-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks with the US if Washington meets its demands.

The announcement came as the region braces for possible renewed fighting, even as Iran’s top diplomat said Sunday that he hoped the U.S. would choose "diplomacy over other paths.”

Iran previously said the plan could be implemented within a week if the US met seven conditions, including lifting its blockade of Iranian ports.

Iran now says ships passing through the reopened strait would have to follow a route agreed upon by Iran and Oman and travel under Iranian supervision.

Separately, Iranian officials have said the US must lift sanctions on Iranian oil sales and agree to a ceasefire that would include Lebanon.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said the plan remained the basis for negotiations with Washington through mediators, despite the shorter implementation timeline.

"This once again demonstrates Iran’s good-faith approach,” he added.Baghaei gave no indication that Tehran had changed its demands or that Washington had accepted its proposal.

President Donald Trump has alternated between pursuing diplomacy and threatening heavy bombing of Iran in his public comments.

The UN migration agency said the people are struggling to find shelter and life essentials, as aid groups face limited access to those in need.

They have fled as renewed fighting between Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi-backed government forces broke a four-year truce, exacerbating an already dire humanitarian situation in one of the Middle East's poorest countries.

Taiz province, in southwestern Yemen, continues to take in displaced families, but many are fleeing south to Aden, which has now received more than 56,000 people, according to the latest figures by the International Organization for Migration."After years of conflict, families in Yemen are being forced to flee yet again, often with little more than the clothes on their backs,” Abdusattor Esoev, head of the IOM's mission in Yemen, said Sunday."

They urgently need shelter, food, clean water and health care. Without more funding, thousands of families could be left without the help they urgently need,” he added.

Associated Press