Iran has proposed a seven-day roadmap to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz and halt hostilities in the Middle East, but reports indicate that US President Donald Trump has rejected the proposal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced the plan on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying Tehran had conveyed the proposal to Washington through Qatar.
Under the proposal, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restore normal maritime passage within seven days if the United States accepts a series of conditions.
“If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened, and normal maritime passage restored within seven days,” Araghchi said.
He added that the decision now rests with the United States, stressing that Iran would not accept coercion, threats or intimidation or surrender what it considers its sovereign rights.
The proposal comes as the Strait of Hormuz remains at the centre of the conflict between Iran and the United States. The strategic waterway is a major route for global oil and gas shipments, making its disruption a significant concern for international energy markets.
However, within hours of Araghchi’s announcement, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump had rejected the proposal, citing US officials familiar with the matter. Reuters also reported that Iran was awaiting a US response following the newspaper’s account.
The reported rejection came amid continuing disagreements over the conditions for ending the conflict. According to reports on the Iranian proposal, Tehran is seeking a seven-day cessation of hostilities across the Middle East, including Lebanon, alongside the lifting of the US naval blockade and oil sanctions and the release of frozen Iranian assets estimated at more than $12 billion.
Iran would then reopen the Strait of Hormuz on the seventh day of the proposed truce, with wider discussions on Iran’s nuclear programme expected to follow.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said the ceasefire process could begin immediately if the United States accepted the proposal.
“We had previously reached an agreement based on the MOU that was signed in Pakistan… if the United States agrees to proceed in that way, everything will return to the way it was before,” he said in an interview with CBS.
Iranian officials have linked the new proposal to a memorandum of understanding reached between Washington and Tehran in June, which sought to halt military operations, reopen the Strait of Hormuz and pave the way for negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme. The understanding later broke down amid renewed confrontation over shipping through the waterway.
Araghchi had earlier met US envoy Steve Witkoff in New York as Qatar mediated contacts between the two sides. While Iranian officials described the discussions as productive, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cautioned against viewing the meeting as a major breakthrough.
Hossein Mohebi, a spokesman for Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, also said ending hostilities in Yemen was among Tehran’s demands.
Meanwhile, Trump posted an image on his Truth Social platform showing the Strait of Hormuz circled and labelled “Trump Strait”, adding another layer to the standoff over the strategically important waterway.
The latest diplomatic effort has therefore placed the Strait of Hormuz at the centre of renewed attempts to end the conflict, with Iran offering a seven-day pathway to reopening the waterway while Washington and Tehran remain divided over the conditions for a broader settlement.
For now, Iran says the proposal remains on the table, while reports of Trump’s rejection have left the next step in the diplomatic process uncertain.
