Trump rejects Iran proposal for deal to reopen Hormuz

US President Donald Trump dismissed an Iran proposal on Saturday that could have reopened the Strait of Hormuz to shipping within a week. The channel, vital to global energy supply, is currently central to the ongoing US-Iran conflict, which has been at a stalemate for nearly seven months. During a press conference outside the White House, Trump stated, "I reject their proposal."

He added, "They want to make a deal where they open the Strait immediately because they're losing so badly." However, he expressed openness to forming agreements. Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian, who was returning from the UN General Assembly in New York, told CBS News that the proposal was formulated "in coordination" with supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei.

Iran's plan entails halting hostilities across the Middle East, including in Lebanon, according to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi. He revealed that the terms mirrored those outlined in a memorandum of understanding signed with the US earlier this year, covering the release of frozen Iranian assets, lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil, and the dissolution of the US naval blockade.

Iran would initiate the reopening of the Strait on the seventh day of the truce. Pezeshkian met with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in New York, expressing Iran's continued distrust of the US. Araghchi stated that Iran had presented a detailed seven-day plan to the US via Qatar. Should the necessary conditions be fulfilled, the strait could reopen within seven days.

However, Trump reportedly remains skeptical about Iran's adherence to his demands, hinting at a possible continuation of the US bombing campaign.