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A senior Iranian official told Reuters that his country could reopen the Strait of Hormuz to maritime traffic in the Gulf within days if the United States lifts its blockade, calling the meeting at the United Nations (UN) a "golden opportunity" to resume diplomacy with Washington.
US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian are scheduled to attend the UN General Assembly in New York, marking the first time they will be at the same event since Trump launched "Operation Epic Fury" against Iran in February.
The Iranian official stated that his country's delegation has full authority to reactivate talks, although no direct meetings between the two presidents are planned.
No face-to-face meetings between Iran and the United States have been known since July, when a preliminary agreement to end the war collapsed just weeks after being signed by Trump and Pezeshkian.
"The United States must officially announce its intention to resolve the issue through diplomatic channels and then agree on a timeline for how the process will proceed," the Iranian official said.
"The UN General Assembly is a golden opportunity for the US to return to diplomacy," the source added, noting that Iran sent its latest proposal to Washington through mediators on September 16.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC's Today show that Washington is open to dialogue with the Iranians during the General Assembly, "especially if there is the prospect that it will lead to something positive and ultimately achieve the central goal of this initiative."
Trump is scheduled to meet this Tuesday with the leaders of the six Arab Gulf states: Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Oman, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates.
The Gulf nations are interested in restoring navigation through the Strait of Hormuz but are wary of granting excessive power to Iran, their historical rival.
With the exception of Oman, all these countries host significant US military bases that have suffered repeated Iranian attacks throughout the conflict, a situation that has strained their decades-long security alliances with Washington.
The most relevant of these, Saudi Arabia, has been drawn more strongly into the conflict this month after Iranian-aligned Houthi fighters advanced in Yemen, defeated Riyadh-backed government forces, and threatened Saudi oil exports through the Red Sea.
Oil markets saw some relief this Tuesday after sources told Reuters that Saudi Arabia resumed operations at its East-West pipeline and could resume exports from the Port of Yanbu, on the Red Sea, within hours, albeit at a reduced volume.
The pipeline, Saudi Arabia's main alternative route for exporting and circumventing disruptions from the war in the Strait of Hormuz, was paralyzed after the September 10 attacks that Riyadh attributed to Iran's allies in Iraq.
The Houthis have pushed back Saudi-backed government forces with the aim of controlling the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, the southern access to the Red Sea, and have directly attacked Saudi territory with missiles and drones.
The United States, which bombed the Houthis for two months last year, has so far rejected repeated requests from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to rejoin the offensive against the group.
The New York Times reported that Trump canceled US attacks against the Houthis planned for Sunday at the last minute, when troops had already begun loading bombs onto planes.
Qatar's Proposal
On the table at the meeting of Gulf states with Trump is a Qatari proposal to establish a framework that integrates Iran and the Arab Gulf countries into a common security architecture, regional sources said.
Speaking at the Qatar Economic Forum held on Sunday in New York, Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani stated that any such agreement should provide security guarantees for the Gulf states and expand economic interdependence with Iran.
"Lasting security cannot be built through repeated cycles of escalation and retaliation, nor through agreements that leave any state permanently exposed to insecurity," Sheikh Mohammed said.
Another source in the region told Reuters that Iran is evaluating the proposal.
In Yemen, Houthi fighters are advancing to take the strategic heights of the Kahboub mountains, with the aim of isolating the Red Sea coast from the remaining areas held by Saudi-backed forces.
The Kahboub area dominates the western coastal strip and the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which would give the Houthis a dominant control position from which to exert greater dominance over both points.
Likewise, its rugged terrain makes it more difficult to detect Houthi fighters against drones and airstrikes compared to the coastal plain.
Clashes have already displaced more than 130,000 people so far this month, and the UN refugee agency warned this Tuesday that tens of thousands more could be forced to leave their homes.