WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump said he had rejected Iran's proposed seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking to reporters at the White House on the 26th, Trump said he had turned down the offer. Iran is losing so badly that it wants a deal to open the strait immediately, he said, adding that while he likes making deals, this one was unacceptable. He also said that a tremendous amount of oil had flowed through the Strait of Hormuz the previous night, along with 29 vessels.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on the 25th that Tehran had delivered a seven-day plan for reopening the Strait of Hormuz to the United States through Qatar, explaining that passage could resume within seven days if the conditions were met. Araghchi said the conditions were already set out in a memorandum of understanding on ending the conflict. The MOU includes unfreezing Iranian assets, easing sanctions on Iranian oil exports and a halt to hostilities on all fronts. On the 26th, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian stressed that the peace proposal had been coordinated with Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei.
Trump's remarks are seen as signaling that Washington has no need to rush to accept Iran's offer while a significant volume of crude is already moving through the strait. The Wall Street Journal reported a day earlier, citing U.S. officials, that Trump was skeptical of the ceasefire proposal put forward by Iran and was leaving open the possibility of resuming strikes on the country after the U.S. midterm elections in November.
Araghchi, however, said via Telegram that Tehran had noted the U.S. president's initial reaction but had yet to receive anything from the mediators, and was waiting for a definitive position to be conveyed through them. Araghchi, who is visiting the United States to attend the U.N. General Assembly, is scheduled to stay until the 30th.
