Iran Says Only Diplomacy Can End Deadlock After Trump Rejects Hormuz Plan

Iran has said that diplomacy is the only route out of its conflict with the United States and Israel, after US President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the fighting.

"Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said in a social media post. "Only a negotiated solution can get them out of this deadlock."

Iran unveiled the peace proposal earlier this week at the UN General Assembly in New York, saying it had been passed to the Americans through Qatari mediators. Trump said on Saturday that he had turned the plan down, arguing that desperation was driving Tehran's push for an agreement on the key waterway.

"They want to make a deal to open the Hormuz Strait immediately because they're losing so badly," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Mediators yet to convey formal rejection

Despite the public remarks, Araqchi said mediators facilitating the talks have not officially relayed a US rejection of the plan. "We are waiting for the mediators to convey the definitive views to us, and we will make a decision based on them," he said.

A US official had earlier described the discussions with Iran through mediators as "positive and constructive".

The United States has imposed an economic blockade on Iran to pressure Tehran into halting attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, which have sharply reduced shipping through the area even as Trump repeatedly asserts that the US controls the waterway.

Proposal included seven-day countdown

Araqchi told reporters at the United Nations on Friday that the proposed 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," he said.

Should Washington agree, the warring parties could begin wider talks "on mutually agreed subjects", potentially including Iran's nuclear programme. Trump has said Tehran must never acquire a nuclear bomb, while a senior Iranian official said Iran would show no flexibility over its nuclear programme even if the US accepted its peace deal. Iran would grant no concessions over its rights, including enriching uranium or shipping its highly enriched uranium out of the country, the official said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in an interview with the CBS show "Face the Nation", said Tehran was ready for talks on its nuclear programme and other issues but would not accept "bullying or coercion".

"Iran is not seeking war, but will defend itself against pressure, threats and attacks," Pezeshkian said, adding that it had already agreed that "we're not supposed to develop nuclear weapons".

Conflict has disrupted oil flows

Iran has also engaged its Saudi rivals over the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the stakes of a seven-month-old conflict that has disrupted oil flows through a critical shipping lane and taken a toll on the global economy.

Previous attempts at diplomacy have failed to end the war, which began on February 28 with US and Israeli attacks. Since then the conflict has alternated between pauses and renewed strikes, killing thousands while degrading Iran's conventional forces and damaging its already ailing economy.

Iran and its allies have retaliated by extending the conflict throughout the region. Iran has struck US allies in the Gulf with drones and missiles, while its Houthi allies in Yemen have targeted Saudi interests.