Trump Rejects Iran's Seven-Day Plan to Reopen Strait of Hormuz

President Donald Trump said on Saturday that he had turned down a plan from Iran aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and stopping fighting throughout the Middle East, telling reporters at the White House that Tehran's offer was not "acceptable."¹⁷²¹⁶

Trump's rejection

Trump said Iran wanted an agreement because it was losing badly, arguing that Tehran was seeking to open the Strait of Hormuz because it had no money coming in. "They want to make a deal to open the Hormuz Strait immediately because they're losing so badly," he said.⁴¹⁷⁵

Trump asserted that the United States had control of the waterway and claimed the U.S. was "winning tremendously." He also posted an image on social media referring to the Strait of Hormuz as the "Trump Strait."⁴³¹¹⁷

Iran's seven-day offer

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said Tehran had delivered a specific one-week proposal to the United States via Qatari intermediaries, under which normal shipping through the Strait of Hormuz would resume on the truce's seventh day if certain conditions were satisfied. "Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met," he said.⁶⁸¹⁰⁵

Araghchi said these conditions mirrored an earlier memorandum of understanding with the United States that required unfreezing Iranian assets, removing sanctions on Iranian oil exports, and lifting the U.S. naval blockade. He said if the U.S. agreed, warring parties could begin wider talks on mutually agreed subjects. "If there is seriousness on the US side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared," he said.⁷⁸⁴³

Araghchi said Iran was still waiting for a definitive response through mediators. "We are waiting for the mediators to convey the definitive views to us, and we will make a decision based on them," he said, adding that mediators had not officially relayed a U.S. rejection of the plan.⁵⁶⁸⁹

Pezeshkian's message

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran had already committed to forgoing nuclear weapons development and remained open to discussions on its nuclear program as well as other matters. He said Iran was not seeking war but would defend itself against pressure, threats and attacks, and that Iran had not walked away from the negotiating table but no longer trusted the United States.⁴¹²³

Pezeshkian said the plan was crafted jointly with Mojtaba Khamenei and would take effect as soon as the U.S. agrees to Iran's terms. He said the United States has blocked Iran's way and Iran has blocked the way from its side, and that Washington needs to show it does not intend to overthrow Iran's government. He said Tehran would not accept bullying or coercion.⁷⁸¹¹⁰

Nuclear stance and the wider war

A senior Iranian official informed Reuters that Iran would remain firm on its nuclear program even if Washington accepted the peace proposal, refusing to yield on uranium enrichment or on exporting highly enriched uranium. Trump has repeatedly stated that Iran must be prevented from obtaining a nuclear weapon.⁴³¹¹

The conflict, which began on February 28 with U.S. and Israeli attacks, has extended throughout the region after Iran and its allies retaliated. Iran has attacked American partners in the Gulf using drones and missiles, and its Houthi allies in Yemen have struck at Saudi targets. Militias aligned with Iran in Iraq were held responsible for striking a pipeline, briefly cutting additional Saudi oil supplies. The war has degraded Iran's conventional forces, damaged its economy, disrupted oil flows and harmed the global economy.⁴²⁶³

What comes next

A U.S. official said discussions with Iran through mediators had been positive and constructive, even as Trump publicly rejected the proposal. The Wall Street Journal, the first outlet to report Trump's rejection, said he privately doubted Iran would satisfy his demands and had told aides he expected to resume bombing after November's U.S. midterm elections.⁴⁷⁵²

Earlier diplomatic efforts, including a memorandum of understanding that fell apart in July, have not succeeded in ending the war. Trump declined to give a direct answer when questioned about resuming military strikes once the midterms conclude.⁴²⁶³