US President Donald Trump rejected Iran's seven-day proposal to open the Strait of Hormuz, he told reporters outside of the White House on Saturday.
Iran raised the initiative at the UN General Assembly in New York, saying it had been transmitted to the Americans via Qatari mediators and that it could reopen the strategic waterway and put an end to hostilities in the region within seven days.
But in comments to reporters at the White House, Trump said: "I reject their proposal. ... I rejected their deal.
"They want to make a deal to open the Hormuz Strait immediately because they're losing so badly," he said before leaving for Tennessee. "We're winning tremendously."
"They want to make a deal and I think that's fine, I like making a deal too. What they want to do is immediately open the Hormuz Strait ... because they have no money coming in, because they get their money from the Hormuz Strait," Trump said.
The US has imposed an economic blockade on Iran to put pressure on Tehran to lift its blockade of Hormuz, which has drastically reduced shipping through the strait, even though Trump again asserted that the US had control of the waterway.
Trump also expects the US military's bombing campaign to resume after the midterm elections, The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday. The WSJ first reported that Trump had rejected the proposal, citing unnamed US officials.
Araghchi calls for deal with the US before midterms
The Iranians also engaged their Saudi rivals regarding the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the stakes of a seven-month-old conflict that has disrupted oil flows through a critical shipping lane and taken a toll on the global economy.
The report comes following comments by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that the deal in question, which calls for steps including the lifting of a US naval blockade on Iranian ports, "would be much better if it is done before the midterm election."
"If there is seriousness on the US side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared," Araghchi said. If the US were to agree, the warring parties could start wider talks "on mutually agreed subjects."
That could potentially include discussions of Iran's nuclear program. Trump has said Tehran must never acquire a nuclear bomb, while a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran would show no flexibility over its nuclear program even if the USaccepted its peace deal.
Araghchi added that the Strait of Hormuz would not reopen until the plan’s conditions were fulfilled. “Iran will not surrender its sovereign rights under pressure,” Araghchi said.
US having positive, constructive indirect discussions with Iran, US official says
A US official said on Friday that the United States is having positive, constructive discussions with Iran through mediators and continues to discuss nuclear issues.
Earlier on Friday, a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran will show no flexibility over its nuclear program even if the US accepts its proposal.
Tzvi Jasper and Reuters contributed to this report.