Trump rejects Iran’s seven-day proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz

President Trump said on Saturday that he rejected the latest Iranian proposal, which was conveyed to the United States during indirect negotiations in New York this week¹. “They have made a proposal and I rejected it,” Trump said¹. He rejected the truce deal on 26 September 2026⁴. Trump said he had rejected what he called Iran’s conditional proposal for reopening the Strait of Hormuz⁵.

Iran had offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear talks within seven days if the United States met conditions involving sanctions⁸. Tehran handed Washington the plan to reopen the strait within seven days¹⁰. The proposal built on an earlier agreement to extend a ceasefire, which collapsed in July². The rejected roadmap resembled the terms of an existing memorandum of understanding, which Iran says it is still holding to¹¹.

Where the two sides stand

Iran says it will wait for an official US response after the rejection⁹. Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that if there is seriousness on the US side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, “everything is now prepared”⁶. Araghchi met Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff for talks on Tuesday³. He had previously set out conditions for ending the war and reopening the strait¹⁰.

Trump said Iran wants to make a deal to reopen the strait because “they’re losing so badly”⁷. The two positions remain mismatched. Iran wants any talks to focus on the Strait of Hormuz and the US naval blockade, while the Trump administration demands that the Iranians agree to nuclear concessions¹. Iran has insisted on a diplomatic solution since the rejection⁷.

What to watch

Energy Secretary Chris Wright told Fox News this weekend that oil flows through the Strait of Hormuz are currently averaging almost 13 million barrels per day¹¹. Nearly 13 million barrels of oil pass through the strait every day, Wright said in the same interview¹². That volume is the reason the waterway’s status is a macro variable rather than a regional one¹².

A US official claimed that “positive and constructive” discussions are still ongoing between the two governments through the mediators¹. Qatar and other regional mediators are trying to revive negotiations, and the gaps on the key issues are still very wide¹. Two contingent paths follow from the reporting: a formal US answer that Tehran says it is waiting for⁹, and a resumption of fighting, with Houthi forces targeting Riyadh as the rejection was reported⁷.