Iran offers to reopen Hormuz if US ends blockade, war

Iran has proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz — the choke point for a fifth of the world's traded oil and gas — if the United States lifts its blockade on Iran and ends the war, Axios reported Sunday.

The offer — relayed to Washington through Pakistan — could ease a conflict that has driven Brent crude to $108 a barrel, a 50 percent surge since fighting began Feb. 28, though Iran's nuclear program would remain off the negotiating table for now.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg Monday to consult on the conflict's latest developments, according to Iran's state-run IRNA news agency. Before the meeting, Araghchi said it was "a good opportunity for us to consult with our Russian friends about the developments that have occurred in relation to the war during this period and what is happening now," in a video interview posted by IRNA.

Putin praised Iranians as "bravely and heroically fighting for their sovereignty," Russian state news agency Tass reported.

Pakistan relayed the revised Iranian proposal to Washington after Trump called off a planned U.S. envoy trip to Islamabad, Axios reported. Iran is also seeking to establish a toll-collection mechanism for ships transiting the strait.

A ceasefire that took effect April 7 was indefinitely extended April 21. A separate Israel-Hezbollah ceasefire was extended three weeks despite continued strikes on both sides. Since the war began, 3,375 people have been killed in Iran, 2,521 in Lebanon and 23 in Israel — including 15 soldiers, according to the Korea Times. Thirteen U.S. service members and six U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon have also died.

Trump has said one of his conditions for any agreement is that Iran "will not have a nuclear weapon." Iranian officials maintain the country's nuclear program is entirely peaceful, and Tehran has deferred nuclear talks to a later stage of any negotiations.

Araghchi has held consultations in Pakistan, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia in recent weeks as Iran seeks regional backing for a diplomatic settlement.