Iran offers to reopen Strait of Hormuz if US lifts blockade

Iran has offered to end its chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for the US lifting its blockade on the country and an end to the war, while proposing that discussions on the larger question of its nuclear programme would come in a later phase, two regional officials said Monday.

US President Donald Trump seems unlikely to accept the offer, which was passed to the Americans by Pakistan and would leave unresolved the disagreements that led the US



and Israel to go to war on February 28.

With a fragile ceasefire in place, the US and Iran are locked in a standoff over the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passes in peacetime. 

The US blockade is designed to prevent Iran from selling its oil, depriving it of crucial revenue while also potentially creating a situation where Tehran has to shut off production because it has nowhere to store the oil.