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Trump confirms he rejected Iran's Hormuz peace proposal, sees bombing resuming after midterms
President Trump said Saturday he has personally rejected Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days. The Wall Street Journal reported Trump has told aides he expects U.S. bombing of Iran to resume after November's midterm elections.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Saturday he has personally rejected Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt the seven-month-old Middle East conflict within seven days. "I reject their proposal. … I rejected their deal," Trump told reporters at the White House before leaving for Tennessee.
Why it matters
The rejection closes — at least for now — the most concrete diplomatic opening in seven months of war, and it came paired with a stark warning: Trump has privately told aides he expects U.S. bombing of Iran to resume after November's congressional midterm elections, the Wall Street Journal reported Friday. The Strait of Hormuz carried about a fifth of the world's oil and gas trade before the war; its closure has whipsawed energy prices and driven up inflation, a major political pressure point ahead of the midterms.
Full report
"They want to make a deal to open the Hormuz Strait immediately because they're losing so badly," Trump said. "We're winning tremendously. They want to make a deal and I think that's fine, I like making a deal too. What they want to do is immediately open the Hormuz Strait … because they have no money coming in, because they get their money from the Hormuz Strait."
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi had told reporters at the United Nations on Friday that Tehran had conveyed its plan to Washington through Qatari mediators: a deal would start a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait and pausing fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon. In return, Iran wants the U.S. to lift its blockade of Iranian ports, release Iran's frozen funds and waive oil sanctions. "If there is seriousness on the US side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared," Araqchi said.
The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed U.S. officials, reported Friday that Trump is privately skeptical Iran will meet his demands and has told staff he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely after the November elections. Reuters said it could not immediately confirm the report. One U.S. official had earlier told Reuters the indirect talks through mediators were "positive and constructive."
Iran is now awaiting an official U.S. response to its plan. The U.S. has kept an economic blockade on Iran to pressure Tehran to lift its own closure of the strait, which has drastically reduced shipping. The war began on February 28 with U.S. and Israeli strikes on Iran and has disrupted oil flows through one of the world's most critical shipping lanes.
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