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

President Donald Trump said Saturday that he had rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart peace negotiations, telling reporters the offer "would not be acceptable."

Iran's plan, passed to Washington through mediators, laid out a seven-day roadmap. In exchange for reopening the strait and beginning final negotiations within a week, Tehran asked the United States to release frozen Iranian funds, lift oil sanctions and end its naval blockade of Iranian ports.

Trump: Iran is "losing so badly"

Speaking as he left the White House, the president said Iran wants a deal because it is losing the war, and that while he was open to an agreement, this proposal did not meet his conditions. He did not explain in detail what was unacceptable.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said no rejection had been delivered through official channels and that Iran would not back down on its conditions, insisting that only a negotiated solution could end the crisis. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran no longer trusts negotiations with Washington and denied that Tehran is responsible for the strait's closure.

A key artery for global energy

The Strait of Hormuz, one of the world's most important routes for oil shipments, has been largely closed since the US-Israeli war with Iran began on Feb. 28. Iranian attacks have sharply reduced traffic, and US pressure has pushed several regional countries to cut flights to Iran.

The standoff has fed higher fuel prices in the United States and become a major issue in the midterm campaign, with a growing number of lawmakers calling for the conflict to end.

Sources: Al Jazeera, NPR