Chinese President Xi Jinping has urged the United States and Iran to return to negotiations to end their nearly seven-month conflict, as Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signaled that Tehran is open to reaching a deal before the US midterm elections.
During a meeting with US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, Xi said China supports Washington and Tehran returning to the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding and resolving their differences through negotiations. He called for a comprehensive agreement that also addresses the Iranian nuclear issue and said diplomacy was the best path toward peace.
The appeal came as Pezeshkian indicated that Iran remains willing to negotiate with the United States despite continuing tensions. Tehran has said it is prepared to reopen the strategically important Strait of Hormuz if Washington eases military pressure and lifts its blockade of Iranian ports and vessels.
US President Donald Trump has previously said he expects a deal with Iran after the November midterm elections. However, Pezeshkian has suggested that Tehran is prepared to pursue an agreement sooner, creating a potential opening for renewed diplomacy.
US and Iranian negotiators are currently exploring a phased arrangement involving the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and the easing of US economic pressure. Major differences, however, remain between the two sides.
China has repeatedly called for restraint and a return to negotiations, warning that prolonging the conflict is not in the interests of the countries involved or the international community.
Iran offers to reopen Hormuz within seven days if US accepts proposal
Iran has proposed reopening the strategically important Strait of Hormuz and resuming nuclear negotiations with the United States within seven days if Washington agrees to its conditions, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Thursday.
According to officials, the proposal was delivered to the United States this week through Qatari mediators. It is based on the terms of a June ceasefire agreement that later collapsed.
“If certain conditions are met, the Strait of Hormuz will be open at the end of seven days, and talks will be restarted,” Araghchi told journalists and think tank experts during a meeting with President Masoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
Araghchi said Iran was not demanding new conditions but was seeking the implementation of terms outlined in the Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding. The agreement had briefly brought an end to the conflict launched by the United States and Israel against Iran in February.
He said the conditions presented to Washington were “nothing new” and were based on commitments already included in the memorandum signed by the US president.
According to Araghchi, the seven-day period would begin one day after Washington formally accepts the proposal. Tehran is now awaiting a response from the United States through the mediators.
