Iran Sticks to Hormuz Terms After Trump Rejects Deal

Iran says its seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz stands despite Trump's public rejection, as mediators have passed no official US response.

Iran on Sunday insisted its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz remain in place, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi saying any reopening is "contingent upon these conditions being fulfilled" and that Tehran "will not back down from them," according to state broadcaster IRIB. The statement came after US President Donald Trump publicly rejected Iran's proposal on Saturday, telling reporters: "I reject their proposal ... I rejected their deal." Araghchi noted that while Trump's comments were public, "nothing has been conveyed to us by the mediators," and Tehran would decide its next move once the mediators deliver definitive positions.

Iran tabled the plan at the UN General Assembly in New York, transmitted it to Washington via Qatari mediators, and said it could halt fighting and reopen the strait within days. Araghchi said at the UN: "If there is seriousness on the US side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared." An unnamed US official had earlier described talks through mediators as "positive and constructive," making the reversal sharper.

Iran's plan, as outlined by Araghchi, calls for a cessation of all hostilities across the Middle East, including Lebanon, and fulfilment of the collapsed ceasefire agreement's terms: release of frozen Iranian assets, lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil, and an end to the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. On the seventh day of a truce, Iran would reopen the strait, with President Masoud Pezeshkian telling CBS the "process will begin from the very day they accept it." Pezeshkian said the proposal was coordinated with Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, and that if the US agrees and fulfils its commitments, "there will be no problem in this regard."

Roughly a fifth of global oil demand passed through the Strait of Hormuz before the war began, and the waterway is also a crucial route for liquefied natural gas and fertilizer. It remains largely shut to international shipping despite Trump's claim that the US has "total control" of it. Iran's Persian Gulf Strait Authority warned ships on Sunday that using "illegal routes" risks "financial and life losses for the vessel, owner, master and crew" and would restrict future passage. Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters separately warned that any new US military action would trigger attacks on all US positions in the region.

Trump told reporters Iran wants to open the strait "because they're losing so badly" and "have no money coming in," while asserting that "we're winning tremendously." According to The Wall Street Journal, reported via the Express Tribune's write-up of Reuters and Anadolu material, Trump was privately skeptical Iran would meet his demands and told staff he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely after November's US midterm elections. US negotiators also told Iran through Axios-reported channels that Tehran does not control the strait and cannot set conditions over it, while describing continuing talks as constructive.

Tehran says the choice now rests with Washington. Araghchi said Iran "does not accept coercion, threats or intimidation" and will not surrender its sovereign rights under pressure, while Pezeshkian told journalists there is a "major atmosphere of mistrust" but that Iran is "ready for a trust-building relationship" and willing to accept nuclear inspectors. Domestically, Trump faces pressure: the Senate failed 49-50 to adopt a House-passed war powers resolution, with Republicans Murkowski, Collins, Paul and Tillis joining Democrats in favor, per Yahoo/ABC News.