Iran signals it could reopen Hormuz within a week as UN diplomacy inches forward

Diplomacy is slowly moving to untangle the US-Iran gridlock, as global leaders gather in New York City for the UN General Assembly meetings. A senior Iranian official tells Reuters that Tehran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz to Gulf shipping within seven days if Washington eases military pressure and lifts its blockade on Iranian ports, a proposal conveyed through mediators last week.

The possibility of “annihilating” Iran is still on US President Donald Trump’s mind, saying in New York that he has “a big decision to make.” Meeting with Middle Eastern leaders later, he suggested the “situation with Iran could end right after the midterm elections.” US midterms happen in November. Iran’s Armed Forces dismissed the speech as “propaganda,” saying their response is “full readiness to inflict more severe, crushing, and unpredictable blows on the aggressors.”

Talks are running anyway, with US Middle East Envoy Steve Witkoff saying that the US and Iran held lengthy discussions on the UNGA sidelines yesterday through mediators. Doha, meanwhile, put forth a proposal for a common security framework covering Iran and the Gulf states during a meeting of Gulf leaders with Trump. Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani has said any such arrangement would need to carry security guarantees for the Gulf and expand economic interdependence with Iran.

On the Saudi front…

After two weeks of Riyadh’s requests for outside military help going unanswered, Saudi Arabia now has a limited yes from London, a French offer to help secure Yanbu and the East-West pipeline corridor, and from Washington a strike package that was loaded onto aircraft and then canceled. The Houthis had already said they would treat any country joining the Kingdom as a combatant.

US President Donald Trump had prepared to launch strikes on the Houthis earlier this week, but called them off at the last minute, the New York Times reported. Trump is under pressure to back Riyadh while trying not to widen the war he launched alongside Israel in February, which is unpopular at home heading into November’s midterms.

Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham agreed to provide Saudi Arabia with air-to-air refueling to support defensive operations against Houthi attacks, Bloomberg reports. The support begins within days and is slated to run for several weeks, although Burnham said he had agreed to the Saudi request for a limited time. The UK will also lobby international allies to bolster the Kingdom’s defense, unnamed sources tell Bloomberg.

Paris is offering to cover the export infrastructure: A French diplomatic source tells Reuters that Paris is ready to contribute to securing Saudi energy infrastructure at Yanbu and along the East-West pipeline corridor, Reuters reports. These are the two links carrying what is left of the Kingdom’s Red Sea export route.

The Houthis warned off the joiners before any of them arrived. Mohamed Al Boukhati, a member of the group’s political bureau, told the Associated Press that the group has no intention of targeting US cargoes or those of any country other than Saudi Arabia (watch, runtime: 1:15). That’s in line with what the group told US officials in Oman. Al Boukhati cast the campaign against the Kingdom as retaliation for Riyadh’s attempts to open internal Yemeni fronts against the Houthis.

No signs of backing down: The group is fighting on three fronts — Bab Al Mandab, the regional fight against Saudi Arabia, and Yemen’s internal conflict — and has no intention of retreating, Al Boukhati said.

Until this week, the outside involvement was limited to mediation. China and Pakistan had made the only efforts by external powers in the Saudi-Houthi fight after Riyadh asked Washington for military support and was offered intelligence-sharing and targeting support instead.