Iran insists only diplomacy can resolve the conflict after Trump rejected the peace plan — “no concessions” on the nuclear programme

Iran insisted on Sunday that only a negotiated solution can end the conflict with the United States and Israel, after U.S. President Donald Trump said he had rejected the Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt the fighting, as Reuters reports.

“Our terms are clear, and every step toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz depends on the fulfilment of these terms,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media. “Only a negotiated solution can get them out of this impasse.”

Iran announced the peace proposal earlier in the week at the UN General Assembly in New York, saying it had been conveyed to the Americans through Qatari mediators. Trump said on Saturday that he had rejected the plan, arguing that desperation is pushing Iran to seek a deal on the key sea lane. “They want to make a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz immediately because they are losing so badly,” Trump told reporters at the White House.

Despite Trump’s public statements, the mediators have not yet officially conveyed an American rejection of the plan to Tehran, according to Araghchi. “We are waiting for the mediators to convey the final views, and we will decide based on them,” he wrote.

A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran will show no flexibility on its nuclear programme even if the U.S. accepts the peace deal — there will be no concessions on its rights, including uranium enrichment or shipping highly enriched uranium out of the country. President Masoud Pezeshkian, in an interview for CBS’s “Face the Nation”, said Tehran is ready for talks on the nuclear programme and other issues but will not accept “harassment or coercion”. “Iran is not seeking war, but will defend itself against pressure, threats and attacks,” he said, adding that Tehran had already agreed that it “must not develop nuclear weapons”.

Iran has also engaged its Saudi rivals over the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the weight of the seven-month conflict that has disrupted oil flows through the key shipping lane and damaged the global economy. The war began on 28 February with U.S. and Israeli strikes and has since alternated between pauses and renewed attacks, killing thousands of people and damaging Iran’s already weak economy.