US President Donald Trump has reportedly rejected Iran’s offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week, according to unnamed US officials cited by the Wall Street Journal.
President Trump’s veto came just hours after Iran presented a new roadmap for opening the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas is transported in peacetime, and days after the US president threatened to “annihilate” Iran from the floor of the United Nations General Assembly.
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Here’s what we know about President Trump’s reaction to the proposal and what will happen next in the conflict.
What did Iran’s 7-day offer include?
The proposal lays out a roadmap to open the Strait of Hormuz to normal maritime traffic within a week.
On Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters that the proposal calls for the United States to bring forward the actions it committed to under the failed June 17 Islamabad Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
According to the New York Times, Aragushi told reporters at a private press conference on Thursday that these measures include lifting $12 billion of frozen Iranian assets, lifting Iranian oil sanctions and lifting the U.S. naval blockade of Iranian ports. He also said all hostilities must cease during the seven-day period, including in Lebanon, where Israel still occupies parts of the country’s south.
Araghchi said if the U.S. conditions are met – which he estimated would take four to five days – the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened and negotiations with the U.S. for a “final deal” could begin on the seventh day.
He said the process could begin as soon as the U.S. accepts the plan.
“The choice now rests with the United States,” Arraguchi said. “Iran will not accept coercion, intimidation, or intimidation.”
How did the US react?
The US government has not publicly responded to the plan.
However, the Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed US officials, reported that President Trump immediately denied that possibility.
They said President Trump was skeptical about whether Iran would comply with U.S. demands. President Trump’s most persistent demands were to ensure that Iran never acquires a nuclear weapon and to restore free passage to Hormuz.
Iran has said it will not discuss its nuclear program until certain conditions are met, leading to an impasse between the two countries.
Meanwhile, a US official told Al Jazeera that the US is in no hurry to respond to Iran’s offer and considers itself in a strong position regarding the Strait of Hormuz.
Late Friday night, President Trump posted an image of a map labeled “Trump Straits” on his Truth Social platform.
President Trump has previously said the United States has “full control” of the waterway and threatened to designate it as US territory. Iran strongly denies this and says it has full control of the strait.
Are peace talks still happening?
Yes, but mostly indirectly. Qatar has been acting as a mediator to convey messages between the two sides at the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week.
Both the United States and Iran have said the door to diplomacy remains open, and a U.S. official told Al Jazeera that ongoing mediation talks are “positive and constructive.”
Qatar, the main mediator in the conflict, said its foreign minister spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday about de-escalation and terms for a new dialogue.
Earlier this week, U.S. officials, including special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, held mediated talks with their Iranian counterparts in New York, which President Trump described as “very good.”
Nevertheless, “there is great skepticism in Washington that the two countries are on the same page,” said Thomas Warwick, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.
“I think the best we can hope for is that this offer from the Iranian foreign minister will lead to further discussions to clarify on what preconditions the US government is willing to cooperate,” Warrick told Al Jazeera.
What will happen in the future of the conflict between the US and Iran?
Perhaps towards a new rivalry.
Trump has told aides that he plans to launch a new bombing campaign against Iran after the U.S. midterm elections in November, according to U.S. officials cited by the Wall Street Journal.
This comes after President Trump told the United Nations General Assembly that he was considering whether to “annihilate” Iran and “drive it to hell” in the absence of a deal.
At the same time, President Trump said he believed a deal to end the conflict could be reached shortly after the midterm elections.
Paul Musgrave, an associate professor of government at Qatar’s Georgetown University, told Al Jazeera that Trump “doesn’t want to end the war on unfavorable terms” and that the results of the November election will likely help determine the direction of policy.
If Trump’s Republican Party suffers a landslide election loss and loses its majority in Congress, Musgrave said he could choose “unilateral action, possibly including restarting war.”
“It also means that Iran would have dealt a very stinging political blow to President Trump,” Musgrave continued, adding that this could cause a short-term escalation, “and then negotiations could follow so that it doesn’t look like the White House has just surrendered.”
