US President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore shipping within a week if certain conditions were met. “They want to make a deal and I also like making deals. But the deal is not acceptable,” he told reporters at the White House on Saturday.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had said on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York that the strait could reopen and shipping routes be restored within a week if the conditions in a memorandum of understanding signed by the two countries in June were met. The report does not specify those conditions.
About one-fifth of the world’s oil and gas supplies normally pass through the Strait of Hormuz. The route has been almost entirely unusable since the war began in February, contributing to volatility in global energy markets. Trump said the United States now had “full control” of the strait and claimed that substantial volumes of oil were still moving through it.
The Wall Street Journal reported, citing US officials, that Trump doubts Iran will meet his demands and sees a new bombing campaign as a possibility. Iran closed the strait after US and Israeli air strikes in late February and retaliated against Israel, US military bases in the Gulf and Washington’s regional allies.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran was prepared to return to previously agreed terms if Washington respected the memorandum. Former US National Security Council official Kirsten Fontenrose said there was little inclination in Washington to revive discussions because the document was viewed as unfavourable to the United States. The memorandum was intended to establish a ceasefire and partially reopen the strait, but the effort failed after both sides resumed attacks.
Shipping data show traffic through Hormuz remains far below normal. The situation has also been worsened by attacks by Iran-backed Houthi forces on Saudi oil facilities and shipping in the Red Sea. Araghchi said peace cannot be achieved through threats of destruction, responding to Trump’s earlier statements suggesting tougher action against Iran.