Iran says it is accelerating ceasefire plan offered to US as region braces for renewed fighting

Iran has said it is working to speed up the ceasefire plan it has proposed to the United States, as the region prepares for the possibility of renewed fighting in the US-Israel war against the country.

Officials in Tehran said on Monday that the seven-step plan they presented last month remains unchanged, but that it could now be put into effect more quickly. The proposal includes a swift reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a return to negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme.

The announcement comes as Iranian officials continue talks with Qatari mediators in the latest attempt to find a diplomatic path out of the eight-month conflict. US President Donald Trump has said the negotiations were "going fine", but he has suggested several times that the United States could strike Iran after the November 3 US midterm elections.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the Iranian offer remains on the table but has now been "condensed and can be implemented within two days" instead of seven. "If Iran's demands are met, it is possible that both security will be restored to the Strait of Hormuz and the negotiation process will begin within a short period of time," Baghaei said. "All of this depends on how the American side wants to proceed regarding the future of this process."

Iran's Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has reportedly granted "powers" to the government to accelerate talks with the US to end the regional war, according to the state IRNA news agency.

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi reiterated that Tehran is prepared for both diplomacy and military confrontation, as mediators Qatar and Pakistan continue to facilitate indirect talks. "By accepting these conditions, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened and negotiations will resume," Araghchi told IRNA in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan. "Otherwise, the current situation will continue and Iran will not bow down."

Iran had previously said the plan could be implemented within a week if the US met its conditions. Those conditions include lifting the naval blockade of its ports, the repeal of sanctions, a guarantee of an end to strikes, and a complete regional ceasefire, especially in Lebanon. Baghaei gave no indication that Tehran had altered its demands or that Washington had accepted the proposal.

Trump said the war on Iran will end "very soon one way or the other", telling the Right Side Broadcasting Network on Sunday that Tehran would either "make a deal or we'll just end it".