US president is said to expect renewed strikes after midterms
\n Tehran
\nUS president Donald Trump has said he has rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the strait of Hormuz within a week and resume nuclear talks in return for the lifting of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports.
\n\u201cThey made a proposal but I reject it,\u201d he told reporters at the White House.
\nThe US president was earlier said to be privately sceptical Iran would meet his demands to dismantle its nuclear programme, according to unnamed US officials cited by the Wall Street Journal.
\nTrump has told aides he expects to resume bombing Iran after the November midterms in the US, the newspaper reported.
\nMeanwhile, on Friday evening, he published a post on his Truth Social platform with a graphic showing a map with the strait of Hormuz renamed as the \u201cTrump Strait\u201d.
\nDuring a three-hour meeting at the UN general assembly in New York earlier this week, Iran had proposed reopening the strait, which would have relieved pressure on global energy markets, and restarting talks on its nuclear programme within seven days.
\nIn return, as well as lifting its naval blockade, Iran wants the US to permit the release of some of Iran\u2019s frozen assets, restore the waiver that lifted sanctions on Iran\u2019s oil exports and observe a \u201cceasefire on all fronts\u201d.
\nThat would involve the US president convincing Israel to end its attacks on Iran-backed Hezbollah in Lebanon, a tall order, and allowing the strait to reopen largely on Iran\u2019s terms, with the new route predominantly going through Iranian waters.
\nSaudi Arabia is also said to be concerned that the route deal is bilateral between Iran and Oman, and not with the Gulf states as joint signatories.
\nReports of the rejection came as Iranian state media reported on Saturday morning that the Iranian president, Masoud Pezeshkian, was on his way back to Tehran from New York.
\nAfter a meeting with UN secretary general, Ant\u00f3nio Guterres, Pezeshkian said: \u201cIran has not walked away from the negotiating table, but given past experiences, it no longer trusts the United States.\u201d
\nEarlier, a US official had said discussions with Iran through mediators were \u201cpositive and constructive\u201d and, on Friday, the Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, had detailed the proposal to reporters outside the UN security council.
\nHe said the seven-day timeline to open the strait and resume talks could start as soon as the US accepts Iran\u2019s proposal. The initial steps would take about four to five days to complete, the strait would be opened on the sixth day and talks on the nuclear programme would start on the seventh day, he said.
\nThis would include a protocol to allow UN nuclear inspectors back in to look at Iran\u2019s damaged sites and the stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
\n\u201cIf there is seriousness on the US side to come to a deal and reopen the strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared,\u201d Araghchi said. \u201cIran has conveyed to the United States, through Qatar [mediators], a concrete seven-day plan. If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened, and normal maritime passage restored within seven days.
\n\u201cThe choice now rests with the United States. Iran does not accept coercion, threats or intimidation, and Iran will not surrender its sovereign rights under pressure.\u201d
\nThe US naval blockade is putting intense pressure on the Iranian economy, while the seven-month-old conflict in the region has disrupted oil flows through one of the world\u2019s most critical shipping lanes and is increasing the cost of living around the globe.
\nPezeshkian, 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 \u201cbullying or coercion\u201d.
\n\u201cIran is not seeking war, but will defend itself against pressure, threats and attacks,\u201d Pezeshkian said, adding that it had already agreed that \u201cwe\u2019re not supposed to develop nuclear weapons\u201d.
\nPrevious attempts at diplomacy have failed \u200cto end the war, which began on 28 February with US and Israeli attacks.
\nSince then the conflict has alternated between pauses and renewed strikes, killing thousands while degrading Iran\u2019s conventional forces and damaging its already ailing economy.
\nIran 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. Iranian-aligned militias in Iraq were blamed for a pipeline attack that temporarily took more Saudi oil off the market.
\nThe violence in Yemen has prompted a new humanitarian crisis, the UN children\u2019s agency said on Friday, reporting a rise in acute malnutrition among children.
\nTrump has previously said he was in no rush to reach a deal, even as high oil prices fuel inflation. On the Iranian side, there are questions as to whether the hardliners who dominate the security forces would accept compromises championed by moderates such as Pezeshkian.
\nDiplomatic efforts surrounding the UN general assembly underscored the global stakes in the conflict.
\nTrump on Saturday also discussed Cuba, whose delegation walked out of the assembly when the US president called the country a \u201cfailed state\u201d while predicting the collapse of its communist regime.
\nThough Trump has purported the country to be a threat to US national security, on Saturday he told reporters that he anticipated that \u201cCuba and us will make a deal\u201d, adding that he doesn\u2019t think taking military action against it will be \u200cnecessary.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
US president is said to expect renewed strikes after midterms Tehran US president Donald Trump has said he has rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the strait of Hormuz within a week and resume nuclear talks in return for the lifting of the US naval blockade of Iranian ports. \u201cThey made a proposal but I […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":569265,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-569264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-world"],"yoast_head":"\n