Gulf plan proposes opening Strait of Hormuz within 4 days of lifting sanctions on Iran

Key Facts

Gulf states are working with regional parties on a multi-track plan to avert a renewed war between Iran and the United States. It includes opening the Strait of Hormuz within 4 days of lifting economic sanctions and the withdrawal of a large Houthi force from Yemen, according to a report published by The Guardian on 28 October 2026. Ali Bagheri, deputy secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said Tehran was ready to shorten the proposed period for opening the strait from 7 days after sanctions are lifted to 4 days. The plan thus links security of navigation through one of the main energy corridors to reciprocal political and economic concessions. The Associated Press said mediators were continuing to work on a deal to end the fighting and reopen the strait. But negotiations face disagreements over Iran’s nuclear file and the sequencing of steps by both sides.

Washington is following the progress of the talks but is insisting on an Iranian concession that could include allowing UN inspectors to return to the country, according to The Guardian. British Foreign Secretary Edward Miliband had urged Iran to bring back the inspectors during a meeting with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in New York. Tehran had so far rejected the return of inspectors, but said it was ready for preliminary talks on its nuclear program. The Associated Press quoted a U.S. official as saying that President Donald Trump’s administration would not reach a deal with Iran before addressing the nuclear file. Another U.S. official said Washington was prepared to ease sanctions and release some frozen funds in return for tangible progress on the issue, while the two sides disagree over the timing and which side should move first.

The plan seeks to include Yemen in a broader regional understanding. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, met Houthi ambassador to Iran Ibrahim al-Dailami on Tuesday, a step The Guardian linked to Iran’s role in mediation. The meeting came 24 hours after a senior delegation from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan arrived in Tehran to discuss Riyadh’s terms for ending the Yemen war and long-term regional security arrangements. The Guardian says Iran has supported the Houthis and can influence them, while the Houthis are demanding that Saudi Arabia lift what they consider a naval and air blockade on areas under their control. Iranian officials told the Associated Press that Tehran believes the Houthis have their own demands, but is ready to help reach a settlement between them and Saudi Arabia.

The talks in Tehran show a divergence in the parties’ priorities. The Guardian said Iran barred discussion of its nuclear program during its meeting with delegations from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Pakistan, instead pushing for a long-term regional security framework involving the Gulf states and Iran that would reduce or end the U.S. presence in the Middle East. U.S. officials, by contrast, are making resolution of the nuclear file a condition for a deal, while offering sanctions relief and the release of some frozen funds in return for tangible progress. Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said Iran’s renewed engagement in a regional framework comprising 8 countries could unlock major economic opportunities for the region and its partners. The Omani framework calls for dialogue among the six Gulf Cooperation Council states, Iran and Iraq, with a non-aggression pact among the eight countries as its central goal.

The nuclear file remains subject to international pressure separate from the regional negotiating track. Britain told the Security Council that Iran must allow International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors to return to all nuclear sites and that the agency was ready to resume safeguards activities in the country. London added that Iran had accumulated a stockpile of more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%. A memorandum of understanding signed by the two sides in June set aside 60 days for discussions on Iran’s nuclear program, but collapsed within days, according to the Associated Press. That breakdown deepens the dispute over whether understandings on the strait and sanctions should precede addressing the nuclear file or whether the tracks should move together.

On navigation through Hormuz, the draft deal described by the Associated Press includes reopening the strait without fees, under a separate understanding between Iran and Oman covering temporary management of shipping traffic. The Omani and Iranian foreign ministries announced a phased framework that includes a joint temporary shipping lane and a joint mine-clearance project, while technical negotiations continue on a permanent corridor, traffic management and information sharing. The Associated Press said 7 oil tankers caught fire or were damaged in the strait in a single night, amid growing fears of a return to war. On 27 October, oil futures fell on optimism about the talks, but prices remained near their highest levels in 6 months because of shipping disruptions and supply risks. Brent crude settled at $113.88 a barrel, down $1.93, or 1.67%.

Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Turkey and Iran agreed on Monday, 26 October, to continue talks to strengthen cooperation, particularly on regional peace and security, according to the Associated Press. Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, France, Germany, Italy and Britain also pledged in a statement following a meeting in Istanbul on 23 October to continue diplomatic efforts, after discussing the U.S.-Israeli-Iranian conflict, freedom of navigation and tensions in the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait. Omani-Iranian technical negotiations on navigation arrangements are set to continue, while the return of nuclear inspectors, the terms of sanctions relief and the resolution of Saudi and Houthi demands remain among the issues before mediators.