The news agency reported that military aid, including parts for armored vehicles, is scheduled to be delivered to Kyiv by October 2029. This timeline is presented as information from the agency and requires further verification.

Iran puts 7-day Hormuz reopening plan as Trump-Xi discuss Middle East war Trump and Xi discussed the Middle East war as Iran sent Washington a seven-day Hormuz reopening plan. The parallel diplomacy underscored mounting pressure to restore oil flows, curb regional attacks and bridge sharp nuclear differences.

Iran pressed Washington on Friday to accept a seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt hostilities across the region, as US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping discussed the Middle East war at their summit. The diplomatic push came as the conflict continued to disrupt oil shipments through the strategically vital waterway, raising concerns over its impact on global energy supplies.

China, heavily dependent on Middle Eastern oil, has a major interest in restoring the flow of energy through the strait. Xi urged the United States and Iran to return to a June framework agreement that had resulted in a brief ceasefire and resume negotiations toward a broader settlement, China's state news agency Xinhua reported.

Trump, meanwhile, warned Xi against providing support to Iran, according to US Ambassador to China David Perdue. Perdue said China had assured the US that it would not support Tehran. The exchanges came as Iran and the US pursued indirect diplomacy at the United Nations General Assembly through Qatari mediators.

IRAN'S SEVEN-DAY HORMUZ PROPOSAL Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran had conveyed a "concrete seven-day plan" to Washington through Qatar. "If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened, a normal maritime passage restored within seven days.

The choice now rests with the United States," Araghchi told reporters at the UN on Friday. He said the seven-day period would begin once Washington accepted the proposal. Under the plan, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt hostilities across the region, including in Lebanon.

In return, Tehran is seeking the lifting of the US blockade on Iranian ports, the release of frozen Iranian funds and the waiver of oil sanctions. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Washington was engaged in "positive and constructive discussions" through mediators and that nuclear issues remained part of the talks.

However, a senior Iranian official separately told Reuters that Tehran would not compromise on its nuclear programme even if Washington accepted the peace proposal. The official said Iran would retain what it considers its rights, including uranium enrichment, and would not agree to ship its highly enriched uranium out of the country.

Trump has repeatedly said Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons. CONFLICT HAS SPREAD ACROSS REGION The seven-day proposal follows earlier diplomatic efforts that failed to produce a lasting end to the war, which began on February 28 with US and Israeli strikes.

The conflict has since seen periods of fighting followed by temporary pauses. Thousands have been killed, while Iran's conventional military capabilities and already fragile economy have suffered significant damage. Iran and allied groups have also expanded attacks across the region.

Iranian missiles and drones have targeted US allies in the Gulf, while the Iran-aligned Houthis in Yemen have attacked Saudi interests. Iranian-aligned militias in Iraq have also been blamed for a pipeline attack that temporarily disrupted additional Saudi oil supplies.

In Lebanon, Iran-backed Hezbollah has continued fighting Israeli forces. US WARNS CHINA OVER IRAN SUPPORT Washington's warning to Beijing came amid reports that China had supplied Iran with shoulder-fired air-defence missile launchers and helped Tehran evade sanctions on its oil exports.

Perdue said Trump had made clear to Xi that any direct or indirect support for Iran was "totally unacceptable". Asked whether China had agreed to stop assisting Iran, Perdue told Fox News, "They assured us yesterday they're not doing that." SAUDI ALLIES STRENGTHEN DEFENCE COOPERATION As the conflict widened, Saudi Arabia's partners moved to strengthen the kingdom's defence posture.

Defence officials from Turkey and Pakistan met in Riyadh on Friday to assess the regional security situation and discuss intelligence sharing, military coordination and greater integration of capabilities, Saudi Arabia's Defence Ministry said. Turkish Chief of General Staff General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu met with Saudi Arabia's Chief of General Staff General Fayyadh bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili and Pakistan's Chief of Defence Forces and Chief of Army Staff Field Marshal Asim Munir in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The meeting followed talks between the Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish foreign ministers a day earlier under the framework of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement. Meanwhile, the fighting in Yemen has triggered a worsening humanitarian situation. The UN children's agency UNICEF said on Friday that acute malnutrition among children was rising amid the continuing violence.

Iran proposes deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz in seven days if US accepts Iran has offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume talks on its nuclear programme in seven days if the United States accepts its terms. In return Tehran wants Washington to lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports, to waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales and to observe a ceasefire that would include Lebanon.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi detailed the proposal to reporters outside the United Nations Security Council on Friday, saying it would also restart stalled talks with the US on Iran's nuclear program. “The seven-day timeline will start as soon as the United States accepts this plan,” he said.

Araghchi said initial steps would take about four to five days to complete, and the strait – a crucial ship through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas passed before the war – would be open on the sixth day. “And on day seven, the talks with the US will be started for the final deal on mutually agreed subjects,” he said, referring to the nuclear program.

Iran's disruption of the strait has emerged as its main point of leverage over Washington throughout the course of the war. The effects have been felt far beyond the Middle East and posed political problems for President Donald Trump and his Republican Party ahead of November's midterm congressional elections.

The White House said only that US officials are having positive and constructive conversations with mediators on the Iran war. In response to questions, it said the US is facilitating significant oil exports through the Strait of Hormuz, although shipping data suggests a significantly reduced flow of traffic through the passage.

There was no immediate comment on the proposal from Gulf Arab nations, although a person familiar with the matter, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations, said that Saudi Arabia was sceptical of the latest push for a deal.

The proposal, conveyed to the US by mediator Qatar, strongly resembles an interim deal reached in June, but with an accelerated timetable. The earlier agreement, which called for a 60-day interim period, quickly collapsed as Iran resumed attacks on shipping in the strait.

Trump has said he is in no rush to reach a deal, even as high oil prices fuel inflation. On the Iranian side, there are questions as to whether Iranian hardliners who dominate the security forces would accept compromises championed by relative moderates like President Masoud Pezeshkian.

“If Trump calculates this arrangement is worthwhile and can bring political benefit before the midterms and reduce gas prices, perhaps we'll see flexibility not seen in previous weeks,” said Trita Parsi, executive vice president of the Quincy Institute think tank.

But he noted “deep suspicion,” especially around the prospect of Iran merely buying time to ship out more of its oil and ease its economic pain.In the latest sign of diplomatic movement, Pezeshkian hosted the prime minister of Qatar early Friday. Qatar has been a key mediator, including during indirect Iran-US talks at the UN General Assembly this week.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on Wednesday that “if there’s an opportunity to exchange ideas and messages, we will.” After multiple failed attempts at a deal, however, suspicion is high on both sides. The US and Israel have attacked Iran twice while it was engaged in nuclear talks, and the US and Iran accuse each other of having swiftly violated the June agreement.

“The Iranians already know that the chances of this not being accepted by Trump are much higher than the opposite,” Hamidreza Azizi, senior Iran analyst at the International Crisis Group think tank, wrote on X.“They want to show that they were ready for diplomacy and that it was the United States that, for the third time, decided to attack in the middle of a diplomatic track – something that people within (Iran’s) strategic community have been anticipating over the past few days,” he said.

Araghchi said Friday that more than 5,000 people in Iran have been killed in the nearly seven-month US-Israeli war.The proposal would include Lebanon, where Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah have been mostly observing a ceasefire. It's not clear, however, if it would include the revived conflict between Yemen's Iran-backed Houthi rebels and Saudi Arabia, which has put even more pressure on global markets.

Iran appears to think the Houthis' newly enhanced ability to threaten the Bab el-Mandeb strait on the Red Sea – another trade chokepoint on the other side of the Arabian Peninsula – could push Trump to make a deal. Subscribe free to our weekly newsletter for exclusive and original coverage from ITV News.

Direct to your inbox every Friday morning. Araghchi met with his Saudi counterpart on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, as he and other Iranian officials held meetings that included representatives from other countries that Tehran has exchanged military strikes with over the last year.

With the Houthis' latest surge in attacks, Saudi Arabia was sceptical of Araghchi’s latest push for a deal with the US., according to the person familiar with the matter.The kingdom, along with other Gulf states, had advocated over the summer for a return to negotiations, saying they could live with an agreement that gave Iran a temporary role in managing the Strait of Hormuz, the person said.

But the Saudi calculations changed as the Houthis seized Yemen’s strategic Red Sea coast from pro-government forces and a vital Saudi pipeline came under attack.Earlier this month, Gulf leaders planned to gather in Oman to discuss an emerging agreement between Oman and Iran on the Strait of Hormuz, which runs between the two countries.

But the meeting was cancelled after Saudi Arabia called for amendments, only some of which were accepted by Iran, the person said. Want a quick and expert briefing on the biggest news stories? Listen to our latest podcasts to find out What You Need To Know...

Iran's Foreign Minister stated that regional governments bear responsibility for facilitating the conflict by providing access to their territory, military bases, and logistical infrastructure to the opposing forces.