TEHRAN: Iran on Sunday reiterated that diplomacy is the only way to resolve its conflict with the United States and Israel, after US President Donald Trump said he had rejected an Iranian proposal aimed at reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending hostilities.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said any move to reopen the strategic waterway would depend on Tehran’s conditions being met.
“Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met,” Araqchi said in a social media post, adding that only a negotiated settlement could resolve the standoff.
Iran presented its peace proposal last week during the UN General Assembly in New York and said the offer had been conveyed to Washington through Qatari mediators.
Trump said on Saturday that he had rejected the proposal, arguing that Iran was seeking an agreement on the Strait of Hormuz because of mounting pressure.
“They want to make a deal to open the Hormuz Strait immediately because they’re losing so badly,” Trump told reporters at the White House.
However, Araqchi said Iranian mediators had not officially communicated a US rejection of the proposal.
“We are waiting for the mediators to convey the definitive views to us, and we will make a decision based on them,” he said.
The United States has imposed an economic blockade on Iran as part of efforts to pressure Tehran over attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz. The measures have contributed to a sharp reduction in shipping through the strategic waterway, even as Trump has repeatedly said the United States controls it.
The Wall Street Journal first reported that Trump had rejected Iran’s proposal, citing unnamed US officials.
According to the report, Trump privately remained doubtful that Iran would accept his demands and had told aides that he considered renewed bombing likely after the November US midterm elections.
A US official had earlier described discussions with Iran through mediators as “positive and constructive”.