Iran’s proposal to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz had not yet drawn a public response from the US as of Saturday, even though reports indicated President Donald Trump had turned the plan down.
This waterway, essential to global oil supplies, lies at the heart of the conflict between the US and Iran, which remains deadlocked after almost seven months, even as fresh mediation efforts were launched this week.
Iranian state media said on Saturday that President Masoud Pezeshkian was traveling back to Tehran following his attendance at the UN General Assembly in New York.
While there, he met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, according to the presidency, and remarked, “Iran has not walked away from the negotiating table, but given past experiences, it no longer trusts the United States.”
Earlier in the week, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi held talks with Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff and had previously laid out conditions for ending the war and reopening the crucial shipping channel.
“Iran has conveyed to the United States, through Qatar, a concrete seven-day plan. If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened, and normal maritime passage restored within seven days,” Araghchi said at the UN.
“The choice now rests with the United States. Iran does not accept coercion, threats, or intimidation, and Iran will not surrender its sovereign rights under pressure.
Yet within hours of his remarks, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had turned down the proposal, citing US officials acquainted with the matter.
According to the report, the 80-year-old president doubted that Tehran would comply with his demands, and he added that he views a fresh bombing campaign as probable.
Trump also shared an image on his Truth Social platform of a map with the Strait of Hormuz circled and marked “Trump Strait.”
Tasnim News Agency quoted Hossein Mohebi, a spokesman for the Revolutionary Guards, as saying, “We will not cease punishing the US until Iran’s seven conditions are met.”
As Araghchi explained, Iran’s plan calls for a seven-day halt to all hostilities across the Middle East, Lebanon included.
He noted that the conditions matched those set out in a memorandum of understanding signed with the US earlier this year.
