Iran resolute on Hormuz re-opening plan rejected by Trump

Article content

Iran stood firm Sunday on its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s rejection of the proposal that had created some optimism for breaking the Middle East war stalemate.

Article content

The waterway is key to the world’s energy supply and is now central to the conflict between Washington and Tehran, which was triggered nearly seven months ago with deadly strikes on Iran.

Article content

Article content

Article content

Iran’s plan called for a cessation of all hostilities in the Middle East, including in Lebanon, according to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and fulfilling conditions in the ceasefire deal that fell apart months ago.

Article content

Article content

That agreement, which dissolved during fighting over Hormuz, called for the release of frozen Iranian assets, the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil and an end to the U.S. naval blockade.

Article content

“Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent upon these conditions being fulfilled. We will not back down from them,” Araghchi said on Sunday, state broadcaster IRIB reported.

Article content

“We have never closed the door to diplomacy or negotiations, but at the same time, we have never backed down from our rights.”

Article content

But Trump said on Saturday that he rejected the truce deal.

Article content

“They want to make a deal where they open the Strait immediately because they’re losing so badly,” he told reporters. “They want to make a deal and I think that’s fine. I like making a deal too.”

Article content

Article content

Araghchi said on Sunday that the Iranians “saw the first reaction from the U.S. president, but so far, nothing has been conveyed to us by the mediators.”

Article content

Article content

“We are waiting for the mediators to convey the definitive positions to us, and we will make a decision based on them,” the foreign minister added.

Article content

Article content

‘Tool for pressure’

Article content

Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding in June that aimed to end the war, to reopen the strait and to launch talks on Iran’s nuclear programme.

Article content

But the deal broke down shortly afterwards when Iran fired on commercial ships in Hormuz that it accused of deviating from its approved route through the waterway.

Article content

Iran requires ships to obtain authorization before passage, citing security and sovereignty reasons.

Article content

Ships that refuse to comply are regularly targeted, while the United States sporadically bombs Iranian coastal areas in retaliation.

Article content

At the UN, Saudi Arabia’s Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan complained that the “international community has been absent” and is failing to live up to the responsibility to keep the Strait of Hormuz and the Bab al-Mandab open.

Article content

“The kingdom rejects any party’s use of these vital passages as a tool for pressure, threat, or harm to the interests of states,” he said, stressing the waterways’ importance to global energy security.