Trump Rejects Iran's Hormuz Reopening Proposal as War Nears Eighth Month

US President Donald Trump said he has turned down an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and bring an end to fighting in the Middle East, dismissing the initiative even as Washington described earlier contacts through mediators as constructive.

Iran presented the plan at the UN General Assembly in New York, saying it had been passed to the Americans through Qatari intermediaries. Under the proposal, the strategic waterway would reopen and hostilities in the region would pause within seven days.

Speaking to reporters at the White House before departing for Tennessee, Trump said he had rejected the offer. He claimed Iran was eager to strike a deal to reopen the strait immediately because it was "losing so badly" and had no money coming in, asserting that the US was "winning tremendously." He added that he was not opposed to deal-making in principle.

Washington has imposed an economic blockade on Iran to press Tehran into lifting its own blockade of Hormuz, which has sharply curtailed shipping through the strait. Trump has repeatedly maintained that the US controls the waterway.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters at the United Nations that the proposed arrangement would set off a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait and a pause in regional fighting. He said everything was prepared if the US showed seriousness, and that an agreement could open the door to broader talks on mutually agreed subjects, potentially including Iran's nuclear programme.

A senior Iranian official said Tehran would show no flexibility on its nuclear programme even if the US accepted the peace plan, ruling out concessions on what Iran regards as its rights, including uranium enrichment or the shipment of highly enriched uranium abroad.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in an interview with the CBS programme "Face the Nation," said Tehran was ready to discuss its nuclear programme and other issues but would not accept bullying or coercion. He said Iran was not seeking war but would defend itself against pressure, threats and attacks, and noted that it had already agreed it should not develop nuclear weapons.

Trump has said Tehran must never acquire a nuclear bomb. He is said to be privately sceptical that Iran would meet his demands, and has told staff he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely after the November US midterm elections.

Iran has also engaged its Saudi rivals over the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the stakes of a conflict now in its seventh month that has disrupted oil flows through a critical shipping lane and weighed on the global economy.

Previous diplomatic efforts have failed to end the war, which began on February 28 with US and Israeli attacks. The fighting has alternated between pauses and renewed strikes, killing thousands, degrading Iran's conventional forces and further damaging its already ailing economy. Iran and its allies have widened the conflict across the region, with Tehran striking US allies in the Gulf using drones and missiles while its Houthi allies in Yemen have targeted Saudi interests.