Iran on Saturday doubled down on diplomacy as the only way out of its standoff with the United States and Israel, pushing back after US President Donald Trump said he had turned down an Iranian proposal tied to reopening the Strait of Hormuz and easing hostilities.
“Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted on social media.
“Only a negotiated solution can get them out of this deadlock.”
Iran unveiled its peace proposal earlier this week at the UN General Assembly in New York, saying it had been passed to the Americans through Qatari mediators.
Mr Trump said he rejected the plan, casting Iran’s push as a sign of weakness as fighting drags on around one of the world’s most vital maritime chokepoints.
“They want to make a deal to open the Hormuz Strait immediately because they’re losing so badly,” Mr Trump told reporters at the White House.
US President Donald Trump said he rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz
Even so, Mr Araqchi said those mediating contacts between Washington and Tehran have not formally delivered any US rejection to Iran, despite Mr Trump’s public remarks.
“We are waiting for the mediators to convey the definitive views to us, and we will make a decision based on them,” Mr Araqchi posted.
The US has imposed an economic blockade on Iran in an effort to pressure Tehran to halt Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. Those incidents have sharply curtailed shipping through the area, even as Mr Trump has repeatedly claimed the US controls the waterway.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that Mr Trump had rejected the Iranian proposal, citing unnamed US officials.
According to the report, Mr Trump privately doubted Iran would satisfy his demands and told aides he views a renewed bombing campaign as likely after the November US midterm elections.
A US official had said earlier that discussions with Iran through mediators were “positive and constructive”.
Conflict disrupts oil flows
Iran has also opened a channel with Saudi rivals over the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting how a seven-month-old conflict has rattled energy markets by disrupting oil flows through a critical shipping lane and weighing on the global economy.
Speaking to reporters at the United Nations, Mr Araqchi said the proposal would set a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait and include a pause in regional fighting.
“If there is seriousness on the US side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared,” Mr Araqchi said.
If the US were to agree, he said, the warring parties could move into broader negotiations “on mutually agreed subjects.”
That could potentially extend to talks on Iran’s nuclear program.
Mr Trump has said Tehran must never acquire a nuclear bomb, while a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran would show no flexibility over its nuclear program even if the US accepted its peace deal.
Iran would grant no concessions over its rights, including enriching uranium or shipping its highly enriched uranium out of the country, the official said.
Abbas Araqchi told reporters at the United Nations the proposed deal would trigger a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in an interview with the CBS show “Face the Nation”, said Tehran was ready for talks on its nuclear program and other issues, but would not accept “bullying or coercion”.
“Iran is not seeking war, but will defend itself against pressure, threats and attacks,” Mr Pezeshkian said, adding that it had already agreed that “we’re not supposed to develop nuclear weapons”.
Diplomatic efforts have repeatedly failed to halt the war, which began on 28 February with US and Israeli attacks.
Since then, the conflict has swung between pauses and fresh strikes, killing thousands while weakening Iran’s conventional forces and further battering an economy already under strain.
Iran and its allies have responded by widening the confrontation across the region.
Iran has struck US allies in the Gulf with drones and missiles, while its Houthi allies in Yemen have targeted Saudi interests.
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