Trump rejects Iran’s peace proposal, plans strikes after midterms: Report

Iran on Saturday 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. The Iranians also engaged their Saudi rivals regarding the strait, underscoring the stakes of a seven-month-old conflict that has disrupted oil flows through one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes and taken a toll on the global economy. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters at the United Nations on Friday that the deal would trigger a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait and a pause in regional fighting. “If there is seriousness on the US side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared, ” Araqchi said. If the US were to agree, the warring parties could start wider talks “on mutually agreed subjects, ” Araghchi said. That could potentially include discussions of Iran’s nuclear programme. Even so, Iran had put forward a plan that would halt hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. The plan in turn would require the United States to lift its blockade on Iranian ports, release Iran’s frozen funds, and waive its oil sanctions, Araghchi said. A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, had previously called discussions through mediators “positive and constructive. ” But Trump was privately sceptical that Iran would meet his demands, the Journal report said, and he told his staff that he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely. Earlier, the Wall Street Journal ( WSJ ) reported on Friday that US President Donald Trump has rejected an Iranian proposal for a seven-day truce and told aides he expects to launch fresh strikes after November’s midterm elections. Citing US officials familiar with the matter, the newspaper said Iranian negotiators had conveyed the offer through mediators in Qatar, proposing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks if Washington lifted its naval blockade of Iranian ports. However, US officials told Tehran and the mediators that Washington had no plans to lift the blockade, believing continued economic pressure would eventually force Iran to accept an agreement on US terms, according to the report. The WSJ said Trump had shifted between diplomatic outreach, military action and sanctions pressure during the seven-month war, while privately expressing doubts that Tehran would agree to dismantle its nuclear programme despite public assertions that Iran was seeking a deal after the election. The newspaper also reported that Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) had rejected new settlement terms, instead seeking a return to elements of a preliminary agreement reached in June and signalling its readiness for a prolonged conflict.

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