US president Donald Trump has reportedly dismissed an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week.
Iran's foreign minister Abbas Araghchi had presented the seven-day plan to American negotiators on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly. It stated that Tehran would reopen the key waterway and resume talks on its nuclear programme but only if the US lifts its naval blockade, waives oil sanctions and observes a ceasefire that includes Lebanon.
Araghchi told reporters at the United Nations: “The choice now rests with the United States.”
The White House said it was engaged in “constructive discussions” via mediators, but a Wall St Journal report cited US officials as saying Trump was sceptical that Iran would meet his demands.
The report said Trump told his staff that he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely, and that he expects to resume hostilities after the November midterm elections.
It comes after Donald Trump told Xi Jinping that Chinese help for Iran was “totally unacceptable” during their summit in the United States this week, his ambassador to Beijing said on Friday.
In pics: Thousands displaced in Yemen
Iran awaits US response over Strait of Hormuz deal
Iran awaited an official US response to its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end fighting in the wider Middle East war after the Wall Street Journal reported that US president Donald Trump had rejected the deal.
Iran raised the diplomatic initiative at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying it had been transmitted to the Americans via Qatari mediators and could reopen the strategic waterway and put an end to hostilities in the region within seven days.
Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters on Friday the deal would trigger a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait and a pause in regional fighting.
If the US were to agree, the warring parties could start wider talks "on mutually agreed subjects," Araqchi said.
Trump rejects Iranian peace proposal - report
US president Donald Trump has rejected Iran's proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt regional fighting within seven days, and told aides he expects to resume bombing after November elections.
Trump was skeptical that Iran would meet his demands and told his staff that he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday, citing unnamed US officials.
A US official had told Reuters that the US and Iran were having "positive and constructive discussions through the mediators", according to Reuters.
Saudi coalition says it intercepts Houthi missiles and drones
Yemen's Saudi-led coalition said early this morning that it had intercepted two ballistic missiles and two drones launched by the Iran-backed Houthis towards the kingdom.
The coalition said in posts on X that the missiles were headed towards Khamis Mushait and the drones towards the capital, Riyadh, adding that it was monitoring the missile threat and drones launched at the kingdom, without providing further details.
The Saudi civil defence had sent alerts overnight for Khamis Mushait and Abha but not for Riyadh.
The Houthis, who control the most populous parts of Yemen and much of the north, have been launching attacks against Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade against Riyadh in July, with strikes targeting Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.
Watch: Trump offers Xi state dinner guests first-ever tour of ballroom construction site
Netanyahu tries to claim Israel’s war in Gaza is ‘opposite of genocide’ in ranting UN speech
Benjamin Netanyahu launched an incendiary attack against Israel’s critics at the United Nations on Thursday as he defended his military action in Gaza.
Dozens of delegates walked out of the address as the Israeli leader branded those departing “moral cowards”.
He claimed that Israel’s war in Gaza is not a genocide and is in fact “the opposite of genocide”. The country faces allegations of genocide in a pending case at the International Court of Justice brought by South Africa.
Read more here:
Recap: Iran offers new hope Strait of Hormuz will reopen – under these conditions
- Iran has proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz within seven days under a plan submitted to the White House.
- Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi stated the demands align with the Islamabad Memorandum signed by Trump.
- Araghchi met UK foreign secretary Ed Miliband, who urged freedom of navigation and consular access to detained Britons.
- Negotiators are considering a phased arrangement to lift the US blockade and unfreeze Iranian assets in exchange for reopening the waterway.
- It came after Benjamin Netanyahu condemned delegates who walked out during his UN General Assembly address as moral cowards, describing the decision to attack Iran as one of his easiest.
Watch: US military roll out red carpet for Xi’s arrival
Iran offers US deal to reopen Strait of Hormuz within a week
Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, has presented a seven-day plan that would see the Strait of Hormuz reopened within a week.
Under the proposal, Tehran would reopen the the Strait of Hormuz and resume talks on its nuclear programme but only if the US lifts its naval blockade, waives oil sanctions and observes a ceasefire that includes Lebanon.
He told reporters at the United Nations: "The choice now rests with the United States."
"If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened and a normal maritime passage restored within seven days.”
The seven-day clock will begin when the US accepts the plan, Araghchi added.
The White House has said it is having constructive conversations with mediators, but US president Donald Trump has said he is in no rush to reach a deal.