Trump reportedly rejects Iran’s seven-day Hormuz proposal

The Wall Street Journal, citing unnamed US officials, reports that President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s proposal for a seven-day process to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and begin negotiations. The US government has not publicly responded to the plan.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says the proposal requires the United States to release $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets, lift oil sanctions and end its naval blockade. He says hostilities, including in Lebanon, would also have to cease during the seven-day period.

Under the timeline Araghchi described, the US steps would take four or five days. The strait could then reopen, with negotiations on a final deal beginning on day seven. Iran’s proposal remains conditional; the available account does not establish that it has been accepted or that reopening has begun.

Qatar is mediating contacts between the two sides. Officials from both countries have said diplomacy remains possible, and a US official described the mediated talks as “positive and constructive”. A separate US official told Al Jazeera that Washington was in no hurry to respond and believed it was in a strong position.

The dispute includes conflicting positions on the scope of negotiations: the US has called for Iran not to acquire a nuclear weapon and for free passage through Hormuz, while Iran says it will not discuss its nuclear programme until its conditions are met. About one-fifth of global oil and natural gas shipments pass through the strait in peacetime.

Analysts cited by Al Jazeera say November’s US midterm election could shape Trump’s policy. The possibility of renewed attacks afterwards is an assessment attributed to analysts and unnamed officials, not a confirmed plan; Trump has also said he expects a deal shortly after the election.