Trump Rejects Iran's Seven-Day Ceasefire Proposal
US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran's proposal for a seven-day ceasefire to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to unnamed US officials cited by The Wall Street Journal. The proposal, made public just hours before Trump's rejection, calls for the US to release $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets, lift oil sanctions, and end its naval blockade on Iranian ports within four or five days.
The Strait of Hormuz is a critical waterway through which one-fifth of global oil and natural gas is shipped during peacetime. Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, said the proposal would allow for normal maritime passage to resume once the US conditions are met. He added that negotiations with the US on a final deal would start on day seven.
The US government has not publicly responded to the plan, but The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump was sceptical about whether Iran would fulfill US demands. Trump has previously threatened to 'annihilate' Iran and has said the US has 'total control' over the waterway. Iran strongly denied this claim, saying it has complete control of the Strait.
Despite the rejection, Qatar continues to act as a mediator in the conflict, passing messages between the two sides. The US and Iran have both said the door to diplomacy remains open, but there is 'an enormous amount of scepticism' in Washington that the two countries are on the same page.