Tehran is weighing a new US request to restart negotiations aimed at breaking the deadlock over the Strait of Hormuz , Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said, as diplomatic efforts intensify to avert further escalation in the Gulf.
Speaking after a visit to St Petersburg on Monday, Araghchi said Iran had welcomed Russia's support for renewed diplomacy. He held talks with President Vladimir Putin, who praised the Iranian people’s "heroic" resistance and pledged that Moscow would do "everything possible" to support peace efforts in the Middle East.
Russia has previously positioned itself as a mediator in the crisis, including offering to hold Iran’s enriched uranium as part of a potential framework.
The renewed diplomatic push comes as Washington reviews a fresh Iranian proposal, transmitted via Pakistan, calling for the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, an end to hostilities, and the lifting of blockades. The proposal would postpone nuclear negotiations to a later stage in an attempt to overcome the current impasse. US President Donald Trump discussed the proposal with his national security team on Monday, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
However, multiple reports suggest the administration remains divided.
A US official told Reuters that Trump was dissatisfied with the proposal, while The Wall Street Journal reported he had not rejected it outright but remained sceptical of Tehran’s intentions.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio described the proposal as " better than we expected " in an interview with Fox News on Monday, but stressed that Washington's core objective remains preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.
He also rejected any arrangement that would give Tehran leverage over the Strait of Hormuz, describing control of the waterway as "the equivalent of an economic nuclear weapon".
Regional and international actors have stepped up efforts to bridge the gap.
Pakistani officials told Reuters that Islamabad continues to mediate between Washington and Tehran, although no direct meeting is planned until both sides are close to agreeing on a memorandum of understanding.
France has also urged Tehran to shift its position, with Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot calling on Iran to make " major concessions " to ensure the success of talks.
Despite the diplomatic activity, tensions on the ground remain high. A US-led blockade of Iranian ports is still in effect, while commercial shipping in the Gulf continues to face disruption and uncertainty.
Ship-tracking data indicate that an ADNOC-managed LNG tanker has successfully crossed the Strait of Hormuz for the first time since the outbreak of hostilities, reappearing off India’s west coast after weeks without signal.
A superyacht linked to a Russian ally of President Putin was also reported to have transited the strait over the weekend.
Other vessels have, over the course of the blockade, resorted to evasive tactics, including disabling tracking systems or broadcasting false identification data, to avoid interception.
The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has stated there is no legal basis for imposing transit fees in the strait, while a joint statement led by Bahrain and backed by dozens of countries called for the "urgent and unimpeded opening" of the waterway.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that a prolonged closure could trigger the "worst supply chain disruption since COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine", underscoring the global stakes tied to one of the world’s most critical shipping routes.