Iran was awaiting an official US response on Saturday to its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end fighting across the wider Middle East war, after the Wall Street Journal reported that US President Donald Trump had rejected the proposal.
Iran presented the diplomatic initiative at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying it had been conveyed to the United States through Qatari mediators.
Under the proposal, the strategic waterway could be reopened and hostilities in the region brought to an end within seven days.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Friday that the proposal would trigger a seven-day countdown to reopening the Strait of Hormuz 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,’ Araqchi told reporters at the United Nations.
If the United States agreed, the warring parties could then begin broader talks on ‘mutually agreed subjects’, Araqchi said.
Iran links Hormuz reopening to wider talks
The discussions could potentially include Iran’s nuclear programme. Trump has said Tehran will never acquire a nuclear bomb, while a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran would not show flexibility over its nuclear programme even if the United States accepted the peace proposal.
The official said Iran would make no concessions over its rights, including uranium enrichment or the shipment of its highly enriched uranium out of the country.
Under Iran’s proposal, hostilities would be halted on all fronts, including Lebanon.
In return, the United States would be required to lift its blockade of Iranian ports, release Iran’s frozen funds and waive its oil sanctions, Araqchi said.
A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, had previously described discussions through mediators as ‘positive and constructive’.
However, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was privately sceptical that Iran would meet his demands and had told his staff that he viewed a renewed bombing campaign as likely.
Reuters could not immediately confirm the Wall Street Journal report.
Iran and Saudi Arabia discuss Strait security
Iran has also engaged its Saudi rivals over the Strait of Hormuz, highlighting the importance of the seven-month-old conflict, which has disrupted oil flows through one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes and affected the global economy.
Araqchi briefed his Saudi counterpart, Prince Faisal bin Farhan, on Iran and Oman’s understanding regarding safe shipping routes through the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s Foreign Ministry said early Saturday.
Previous diplomatic efforts have failed to end the war, which began on 28 February with US and Israeli attacks.
Since then, the conflict has alternated between pauses and renewed strikes, killing thousands, weakening Iran’s conventional forces and further damaging its already struggling economy.
Iran and its allies have retaliated across the region. Iran, which controls the strait together with Oman, has launched drone and missile attacks against US allies in the Gulf, while its Houthi allies in Yemen have targeted Saudi interests.
Iranian-aligned militias in Iraq have also been blamed for a pipeline attack that temporarily reduced Saudi oil supplies, while Iranian-backed Hezbollah has been engaged with Israeli forces in Lebanon.
Saudi allies strengthen regional defences
The widening conflict has brought Saudi Arabia’s allies together to strengthen the kingdom’s defences.
The Saudi-backed, internationally recognised Yemeni government has come under attack from Iran-linked Houthi fighters, whose missiles have struck inside Saudi Arabia.
The Saudi-led coalition in Yemen said early Saturday that it had intercepted two drones launched by the Houthis towards Riyadh, as well as a ballistic missile launched 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 against Riyadh in July, with strikes targeting Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.
The attacks have targeted Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and shipping, adding pressure to global oil supplies caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran.
They have also put the main alternative Red Sea route for Gulf exports at risk 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 the integration of forces, the Saudi Defence Ministry said in a statement.
The meeting came a day after the Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish foreign ministers met under the framework of the Mecca Joint Defence Agreement.
The violence in Yemen has also triggered a new humanitarian crisis, with the United Nations children’s agency reporting on Friday that acute malnutrition among children was rising.
