US President Donald Trump has said he is in no rush to reach a deal, even as elevated oil prices contribute to inflation. “If Trump calculates this arrangement is worthwhile and can bring political benefit before the midterms and reduce gas prices, perhaps we'll see flexibility not seen in previous weeks,” said Trita Parsi, executive vice president at the Quincy Institute think tank.

Parsi also pointed to “deep suspicion” over whether Iran could use an agreement to buy time, move more oil and ease economic pressure. Qatar pushes diplomatic contactsIranian President Masoud Pezeshkian hosted Qatar's prime minister on Friday, in another sign of renewed diplomatic activity.

Qatar has been involved in mediation between Tehran and Washington, including indirect contacts during the UN General Assembly. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday that “if there’s an opportunity to exchange ideas and messages, we will.”

But repeated failures to reach a lasting agreement have left both sides deeply distrustful. The United States and Israel have attacked Iran while it was engaged in nuclear talks, while Washington and Tehran have accused each other of violating the June agreement.

“They want to show that they were ready for diplomacy and that it was the United States that, for the third time, decided to attack in the middle of a diplomatic track — something that people within (Iran’s) strategic community have been anticipating over the past few days,” he said. Yemen conflict complicates Hormuz proposalIran's proposal includes Lebanon, where Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah have largely observed a ceasefire.

It remains unclear whether the plan would also cover the renewed conflict involving Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia. The Houthi attacks have added pressure to global markets and raised concerns about another strategic maritime chokepoint, the Bab el-Mandeb Strait at the southern end of the Red Sea.

Iran appears to view the Houthis' ability to threaten the Bab el-Mandeb as another source of leverage in negotiations with Washington. Araghchi also met his Saudi counterpart on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly as Iranian officials held talks with representatives of countries involved in the wider regional conflict.

Saudi Arabia has previously supported a return to negotiations and, according to the person familiar with the matter, had been open to an arrangement giving Iran a temporary role in managing the Strait of Hormuz. However, Saudi calculations changed after the Houthis seized Yemen's strategic Red Sea coast from pro-government forces and a vital Saudi pipeline came under attack.

An earlier planned meeting of Gulf leaders in Oman to discuss an emerging Oman-Iran agreement on Hormuz was also cancelled after Saudi Arabia sought amendments to the proposed arrangement. Iran faces internal debate over diplomacyIranian leaders have sought to project unity, but the latest diplomatic moves have exposed divisions over how Tehran should respond to the United States.

Some hard-liners have called for continued or intensified military action to secure greater concessions from Washington and have criticised Pezeshkian and Araghchi for pursuing negotiations. Firebr and lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei wrote on X that meeting with “the aggressor enemy” demonstrated weakness.

Iran's Assembly of Experts, the body that appoints the supreme leader, said “there is no path other than resistance.” “There is a view that speaks of war but offers no prospect or mechanism for bringing it to a powerful conclusion,” he wrote on social media.

“At the opposite end is a current that makes the error of underestimating national capabilities.” He added: “The first error keeps the country in a state of permanent crisis, while the second hands national resources and dignity over to the enemy.”

Araghchi said more than 5,000 people had been killed in Iran during the nearly seven-month US-Israeli war. Iran's seven-day proposal now puts the focus on Washington's response and whether the two sides can revive diplomacy over Hormuz and Tehran's nuclear programme.

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