Iran is awaiting an official US response to its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end fighting in the wider war in West Asia, though Tehran has made it clear that it would make no concessions on its nuclear program.
From the US side, the Wall Street Journal reported that President Donald Trump had rejected the deal sent by Iran. Iran had put forward a plan that could halt hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon.
“If there is seriousness on the US side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared,” Araghchi said. If the US were to agree, the warring parties could start wider talks “on mutually agreed subjects,” Araghchi said. Iran would grant no concessions over its rights, including enriching uranium or shipping its highly enriched uranium out of the country, the official said. Abbas Araghchi said 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.
Trump has vowed that Tehran will never acquire a nuclear bomb, even as a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Friday that Iran will show no flexibility over its nuclear program. Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters at the United Nations on Friday that the deal would trigger a seven-day countdown to the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a pause in regional fighting.
But according to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Trump was privately sceptical that Iran would meet his demands, and he told his staff that he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely, potentially after the November midterms.
