US President Donald Trump has rejected a seven-day roadmap proposed by Iran to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, saying the agreement would not be acceptable to Washington.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran submitted the proposal to the US through Qatar on Friday, outlining conditions that would allow the vital shipping route to reopen and normal maritime passage to resume within a week.
Speaking to reporters outside the White House on Saturday, Trump said Iran was seeking an agreement because it was “losing so badly”, but added that he was also open to a deal if its terms were acceptable to the US.
“I reject their proposal,” Trump said. “They want to make a deal and I think that’s fine. I’d like to make a deal, too. But that deal would not be acceptable.”
Araghchi said the proposal was conveyed to Washington through Qatar, which has been mediating between the two sides. He said Iran was awaiting the US response.
Under the proposed roadmap, Washington would lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales, release an estimated $12bn in frozen Iranian assets and observe a regional ceasefire covering areas including Lebanon and Yemen.
“The choice now rests with the United States. Iran does not accept coercion, threats or intimidation, and Iran will not surrender its sovereign rights under pressure,” Araghchi said on Friday while attending the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Al Jazeera correspondent Mike Hanna, reporting from Washington, said the proposal appeared unlikely to gain US approval after reports indicated that Trump was preparing to reject it.
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The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed US officials, reported that Trump was privately sceptical that Tehran would meet his demands and had told aides that he expected a renewed bombing campaign against Iran after the November US midterm elections.
Hanna said Trump’s public comments on negotiations had varied, ranging from expressions of optimism about talks to threats of further military action.
“The one thing that has been made clear by President Trump is that he is content to stay in the status of limbo,” Hanna said, noting concerns in the US that the conflict could become a prolonged war.
The Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway for global oil shipments, has remained at the centre of the confrontation between the US and Iran, which has reached an impasse after nearly seven months despite renewed diplomatic efforts this week.
Earlier in the week, Araghchi held talks with Trump’s envoy, Steve Witkoff, as Tehran outlined conditions for ending the conflict and reopening the shipping channel.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Saturday that Tehran no longer trusted negotiations with Washington, arguing that previous rounds of talks had been followed by attacks and sanctions.
“We have no trust in the American side and do not know on what basis an understanding can be reached with it,” Pezeshkian told Al Jazeera.
Pezeshkian also denied that Iran was responsible for blocking the Strait of Hormuz, saying the US had “closed the routes before us” and describing the disruption as a response to restrictions imposed on Iran.
He said the crisis could be resolved through negotiations rather than military force, adding that the waterway would reopen to commercial shipping if an agreement to end the conflict was reached.
Al Jazeera
