Iran Presents US With Roadmap for 60-Day Regional Ceasefire and Phased Hormuz Reopening as Brent Extends Slide to $98.44

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met US special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly on Sep 23, conveying a roadmap Tehran wants Washington to accept: a regionwide ceasefire lasting up to 60 days, a phased reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, an immediate end to the US naval blockade and the release of Iran's frozen assets, plus a halt to attacks on Iran's regional neighbors and an agreed schedule for substantive talks during the ceasefire window. A senior Iranian official separately said the strait could reopen within a week if the US eases military pressure and lifts the blockade of Iranian ports; Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei framed the core conditions as an end to US 'acts of aggression,' the naval blockade and economic warfare. Witkoff called the talks 'a round of discussions that we hope will prove constructive,' but Trump publicly ruled out lifting the blockade until Iran shows 'sufficient goodwill,' with Qatar, Pakistan and Egypt mediating behind the scenes. Oil markets continued digesting Tuesday's Saudi pipeline restart: Brent crude fell a further 0.82% to $98.44/bbl and WTI dropped 1.34% to $89.31, extending both benchmarks to fresh multi-week lows.