Iran: Awaiting final U.S. response on reopening Hormuz

Iran says it is awaiting the “final” U.S. response to its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, even as U.S. President Donald Trump publicly dismissed the offer, calling it “unacceptable.”

Under Tehran’s proposal, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen within seven days, and the U.S. and Iran would return to talks on a new agreement. In exchange, Tehran is asking Washington to meet several conditions, including lifting the naval blockade of Iranian ports and easing economic and military pressure on Iran.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran has seen Trump’s initial reaction but has not yet received an official response through intermediaries.

“We saw the first reaction from the U.S. president, but nothing has yet been conveyed to us by the intermediaries,” Araghchi said.

He added that Trump has made various and contradictory statements on the matter, while Iran expects the final U.S. position to be conveyed through intermediaries.

“We are waiting for the final opinion to be conveyed to us by the intermediaries and will make a decision based on it,” the Iranian minister said.

Trump on Saturday rejected Tehran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, calling it “unacceptable.”

“They want to make a deal to open the strait immediately, because they are losing a lot,” Trump said. “I also like to make a deal, but that deal would not be acceptable.”

The Iranian proposal was made public during a visit by senior Tehran officials to New York, where they attended the United Nations General Assembly and held contacts with U.S. officials.

Araghchi has not made public all the conditions of the proposal, but said they contain nothing more than was foreseen in the U.S.–Iran Memorandum of Understanding, signed in June and later scuttled after fighting resumed.

According to the Iranian minister, if the required conditions are met, navigation in the Strait of Hormuz could return to normal within seven days.

“The choice is now up to the United States,” Araghchi told reporters during the New York visit.

“You cannot bomb a country, threaten it with annihilation, impose a naval blockade and coercive measures and then expect security and navigation to return automatically,” he added.

For its part, a White House official told CNN that the U.S. is holding “positive and constructive discussions through intermediaries.”

Secretary of State Marco Rubio struck a similar tone this week, declaring that any deal with Iran would require “a lot of hard work over a period of time.”

Meanwhile, citing U.S. officials, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that Trump has told his staff a new bombing campaign against Iran could be possible after the next U.S. midterm elections. According to officials cited by the newspaper, Trump’s stance could change in the coming weeks.

CNN has approached the White House for comment on this report.

During his speech at the UN General Assembly, Trump said he faced a major decision: reaching a deal with Iran or continuing the confrontation with the Islamic Republic.

“I have a big decision to make – will a deal be reached with Iran that will allow them to rebuild and create a much greater country than it has ever been before?”

“Or destroy the Islamic Republic and do it fast, never again giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries?”

Meanwhile, Iranian army spokesman Mohammad Akraminia said Sunday that the U.S. could launch a new attack on Iran due to the “bad regional situation,” Reuters reported.

According to him, Tehran is prepared for any confrontation.