Iran says Hormuz could reopen in two days if Washington meets its conditions, and Trump says the talks are going fine but he is in no hurry

The timetable shrank again on Saturday. Iran's earlier proposal would have reopened the Strait of Hormuz over seven days. Araghchi told Al Jazeera that talks with Qatari mediators had cut the implementation period to two days, with Washington taking its steps on the first day and shipping resuming on the second, if the United States cooperates. An Iranian delegation was in Doha consulting with the mediators. There are no plans for a direct meeting with American officials, and Araghchi called the American offer of dialogue a positive step while insisting that what is being circulated about the terms is media speculation and that Iran's conditions are clear.

The conditions, as Tehran has stated them, are sanctions relief, including the sanctions imposed after the Islamabad memorandum, the release of frozen Iranian funds, including funds held in Qatar, restored waivers for its oil sales, a reduction of American forces in the region, and recognition of a shipping route in the strait designated by Iran and Oman. Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei said a letter from Vice President JD Vance signaled a more conciliatory American tone, and also said Tehran would not reopen the strait before its conditions are met.

Washington is sending two signals at once, and both are deliberate. Trump, at his Mar-a-Lago estate, said the talks are going fine and Iran wants to make a deal, and said he is not in that much of a hurry because the United States has knocked down Iran's navy, its air force and its anti aircraft defenses. We can strike the remaining nuclear sites in 10 minutes, he said, naming the suspected underground complex at Pickaxe Mountain among the targets still to be taken care of. Rubio said the president has not made a decision on resuming strikes and that a diplomatic settlement remains possible. American officials have warned Gulf allies to prepare for possible renewed strikes after Tuesday's midterm elections, the Associated Press has reported.

Iran effectively closed the strait when the war began in late February, and the waterway has been a contest of mines, seized tankers and escorted convoys since. Tehran's supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, warned on Saturday that any new attack would be answered immediately and without geographic limits. That is the setting for the two day offer. It is a proposal, stated by one side, with the price attached. Nothing in Saturday's statements says Washington has agreed to pay it.