Iran says it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if Washington accepts its terms, as two more tankers are reported hit and Trump warns of ‘the hammer’

Iran said on Monday, November 2, that it could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within two days if the United States accepts its demands, putting the next move in Washington’s hands a day after two more tankers were reported hit in the waterway. Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai told a press conference in Tehran that Iran’s demands had been set out “very clearly and transparently”, according to Infobae.

Tehran says it has passed its proposal to Washington through Qatari mediators. If the US accepts, “both security will be restored to the Strait of Hormuz and the negotiation process will begin in a short period of time,” Iran said, according to Al Jazeera.

What Iran is asking for

According to Infobae’s account of Iranian statements, the conditions include an end to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, an easing of oil-sector sanctions, a regional ceasefire, the unfreezing of Iranian assets abroad and acceptance of a new navigation route through the strait agreed between Iran and Oman. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has also called for a reduced US military presence in the Middle East. The two-day timeline shortens a seven-day schedule that Tehran proposed through Qatar in September.

Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi travelled to Doha to facilitate indirect contacts. Iranian negotiators left Sunday’s talks with Qatari mediators, but a source quoted by Reuters said this was not due to disagreements and that a draft was circulating that could allow a later meeting, Infobae reported.

Trump: ‘one way or the other’

President Donald Trump said the war with Iran would end “very soon one way or the other”, warning that Tehran would either make a deal or “the hammer” would come down, Al Jazeera reported. Infobae said Trump had indicated he would not order new strikes before Tuesday’s midterm elections and described the talks as productive, while not ruling out future military action. Baqai said Iran did not expect the US vote to produce “a new United States” and warned that any aggression would meet a “powerful, immediate and global” response.

Two more tankers reported hit

The navy of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said two oil tankers, one of them a supertanker, exploded after striking naval mines while using what it called an unauthorised route, adding that the ships had switched off their navigation and identification systems and ignored warnings, according to a statement relayed by Press TV and reported by ANI. Neither ship has been named.

The UK Maritime Trade Operations agency (UKMTO) reported an incident at about 15:09 UTC on Sunday inside the strait, citing a Mayday call on VHF channel 16 saying that “another vessel has been struck by an unknown projectile”. UKMTO did not mention mines, and no casualties had been reported. Saudi Arabia and the UAE separately condemned an attack on the Qatari LNG carrier Al Mayeda in the Gulf. Last Friday, Oman’s navy evacuated 25 crew from a burning tanker off Musandam.

Iran has kept the strait effectively closed since the war began with US and Israeli strikes on its territory on February 28, 2026. The US Central Command disputes that the waterway is closed, saying more than 3,000 commercial ships have transited it over the past six months with the support of its forces, according to El Universo. China’s President Xi Jinping said on Monday that the Gulf should not become a battleground for “great power rivalry”, Al Jazeera reported.

Confirmed and pending

• Confirmed: Iran’s two-day offer and its conditions as stated by its officials; UKMTO’s report of a vessel struck on November 1.
• Not independently verified: the IRGC’s claim that two tankers hit mines; the identities of the ships and the extent of damage.
• Pending: a formal US response to the proposal.

Sources

• Infobae – Iran says it will reopen Hormuz in two days if the US accepts its conditions (Nov 2, 2026)
• Al Jazeera – Iran war live (Nov 2, 2026)
• ANI – 2 tankers explode after allegedly hitting naval mines, Iran claims (Nov 2, 2026)
• El Universo – British navy warns of a new attack on a ship in Hormuz (Nov 1, 2026)

Featured image: illustrative photo of a large ship at sea by Giorgos Barazoglou on Unsplash (Unsplash License). It does not show the vessels involved.

Kcenia Sarapova · Europe, Asia & Middle East · Virtual editorial byline
English adaptation: Lin Wei · Editorial direction: Leonidas Ferraz · November 2, 2026 · AI-assisted writing