Iran Awaits US Reply on Hormuz Reopening Plan as Trump Reportedly Balks

Iran is awaiting an official American response to its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt fighting across the Middle East within a week, after a report said US President Donald Trump had turned the offer down.

The initiative was presented at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where Iranian officials said it had been passed to Washington through Qatari mediators. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters on Friday that the arrangement would set a seven-day countdown to reopening the strategic waterway and pausing hostilities across the region.

"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, adding that a US acceptance could open the door to broader negotiations on "mutually agreed subjects" — potentially including Iran's nuclear programme.

A senior Iranian official said Tehran would not soften its position on the nuclear file even if Washington accepted the peace plan, ruling out concessions on uranium enrichment or the shipment of highly enriched uranium abroad. Trump has repeatedly said Iran will never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.

Under the Iranian plan, hostilities would cease on all fronts, including Lebanon. In return, Tehran expects the United States to lift its blockade on Iranian ports, unfreeze Iranian funds and waive oil sanctions, Araqchi said. A US official, speaking anonymously, had earlier described the mediated discussions as "positive and constructive."

The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was privately doubtful Iran would meet his demands and had told staff he considered a renewed bombing campaign likely. The report could not be independently confirmed.

Diplomatic efforts have so far failed to end a war that began on February 28 with US and Israeli attacks. The conflict has alternated between lulls and fresh strikes, killing thousands, eroding Iran's conventional military capacity and further weakening its economy. Iran and its allies have widened the fighting: Tehran, which controls the strait alongside Oman, has launched drones and missiles at US partners in the Gulf, while its Houthi allies in Yemen have targeted Saudi interests. Iranian-aligned militias in Iraq were blamed for a pipeline attack that briefly removed more Saudi oil from the market, and Hezbollah has been engaged with Israeli forces in Lebanon.

Araqchi briefed Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan on the understanding between Iran and Oman on safe shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran's foreign ministry said early on Saturday.

As the war's costs mount, Saudi Arabia's allies have moved to reinforce the kingdom's defences. The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said early on Saturday it had intercepted two Houthi drones headed for Riyadh and a ballistic missile fired towards Khamis Mushait. The Houthis, who control Yemen's most populous areas and much of the north, have attacked Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade on Riyadh in July, striking Saudi vessels in the Red Sea as well as cities, energy infrastructure and shipping.

The assaults have added to pressure on global oil supplies already strained by the US-Israeli war on Iran, and have put at risk the main alternative Red Sea route for Gulf exports while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked.

Defence officials from Turkey and Pakistan, both partners in a joint defence pact with Saudi Arabia, met in Riyadh on Friday to review the security situation and discuss intelligence cooperation, military coordination and force integration, the Saudi defence ministry said. The meeting followed talks between the three countries' foreign ministers under the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.

Separately, the United Nations children's agency said on Friday that the violence in Yemen had triggered a new humanitarian crisis, reporting a rise in acute malnutrition among children.