President Donald Trump rejected Iran's seven-day proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying the offer was not acceptable as Tehran waits for a formal US response.
President Donald Trump has rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping within seven days, leaving stalled negotiations to end the war in a state of uncertainty as Tehran said it would wait for a formal response from US mediators.
What Iran proposed
Iran said it raised the reopening of the strait and an end to hostilities during negotiations on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York this past week. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters on Friday that an agreement could be reached if "necessary conditions are met" between the two countries, and said those conditions were the same as those included in a memorandum of understanding signed by Washington and Tehran in June.
The proposal amounted to a seven-day roadmap to halt fighting and restore shipping through the waterway, according to accounts from Reuters, Al Jazeera and The Guardian.
Why Trump refused
Speaking at the White House on Saturday, Trump called the offer not "acceptable."
"I'm rejecting their deal," Trump said, adding that the US already had "total control" of the strait, with "massive amounts of oil" passing through it. He said Tehran wanted to make a deal to open the waterway immediately because "they're losing so badly."
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed officials, reported that Trump rejected the ceasefire in part because he expects bombing to resume after the US midterm elections.
Iran's response
Araghchi acknowledged the rejection in a post on Telegram but accused Trump of previously making contradictory statements. "He has made many good statements, as well as many contradictory ones, which unfortunately we hear frequently," Araghchi wrote.
"We are waiting for the mediators to convey the definitive views to us, and we will make a decision based on them," he said. Iran's foreign ministry later said it was awaiting an official US position conveyed through intermediaries. Oman has been acting as the principal mediator between the two governments.
The strategic stakes
The Strait of Hormuz is the world's most consequential oil chokepoint. Roughly a fifth of global oil and gas supply normally transits the waterway, which has been effectively closed to commercial shipping since the outbreak of war in February. The closure of the strait has been cited repeatedly as a driver of global energy prices and shipping disruption.
A widening economic campaign
Trump's rejection drew support from the US ambassador to Nato, Matthew Whitaker, who told Fox News that Iran had offered "half measures" and "illusory deals to make themselves look good on the world stage."
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Saturday that economic pressure was taking a toll on Tehran. Posting on X, Bessent said Turkey, Oman and the United Arab Emirates had halted flights from various Iranian airlines, and that some banks in the UAE and Turkey had stopped transactions with Iran. The administration has labeled its economic blockade "Operation Economic Outcast," using sanctions to press Tehran over attacks on vessels in the strait.
Some economists have questioned the effectiveness of the latest measures, since their impact depends on the response of Iran's major trading partners. China, the largest buyer of Iranian oil, has disregarded previous US sanctions and continued to do business with Tehran.
Mediators press for dialogue
Oman's foreign minister, Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi, called on "all parties" to cooperate with Oman in efforts to safeguard navigation in the strategic waterway, urging continued open dialogue to resolve the crisis.
With the war now in its eighth month and no formal US counter-offer conveyed through mediators, the immediate path back to negotiations remains unclear.