Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume talks on its nuclear program in seven days if the United States lifts its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waives sanctions on Iranian oil sales and observes a ceasefire that would include Lebanon. Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi detailed the proposal in a private gathering on Thursday on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly in New York, according to one attendee. Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute think tank, said Araghchi suggested that a speedy agreement would help U.S. President Donald Trump ahead of November’s midterm elections. The arrangement would also relieve enormous economic pressure on Tehran as the U.S. piles on additional sanctions. Iran’s disruption of the strait — through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas transited before the war — has emerged as its main point of leverage. The effects have been felt far beyond the Middle East. There was no immediate comment from Iran’s U.N. mission or other Iranian officials. A person familiar with the matter, speaking on
