Passersby in front of a panel with an illustration of the Strait of Hormuz, installed on the facade of a building in Tehran, Sep. 16, 2026. (Credit: Majid Asgaripour/WANA via Reuters)
Donald Trump on Friday rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, according to The Wall Street Journal, while the U.S. president is also considering resuming strikes on Iran after the November midterm elections.
Later in the evening, the Republican billionaire posted a map of the Strait of Hormuz on his Truth Social platform labeled ‘‘Trump Strait.’’
Citing U.S. officials, The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump is skeptical of Tehran’s ability to meet his demands. Earlier Friday, Iran submitted a proposal to the United States to reopen the strategic waterway within seven days, saying that ‘‘the choice now belongs’’ to Washington.
’’The seven-day countdown will begin as soon as the United States accepts this plan,’’ Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at the U.N. headquarters in New York.
The reopening of the Strait of Hormuz is at the heart of the conflict between Tehran and Washington, which began after the United States and Israel launched strikes on Iran at the end of February.
Before the war, about one-fifth of the world’s hydrocarbons transited through the waterway.
’’The measures that the United States must take are not new,’’ Araghchi told reporters. ‘‘They are all already included in the memorandum of understanding’’ signed with Washington in June.
’’If the United States agrees to proceed in this way, everything will go back to how it was before,’’ Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview with CBS on Friday, adding that ‘‘the process will begin the very day they accept it.’’
Trump and Pezeshkian signed a memorandum of understanding in June aimed at ending the war in the Middle East, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and then holding talks on Iran’s nuclear program. However, the two sides interpreted the agreement differently, and the discussions failed.
Frozen assets
Among the conditions set by Iran in June was an end to hostilities, with an immediate and definitive halt to military operations and fighting on all fronts, including Lebanon, where the Israeli army occupies more than 600 square kilometers and is demanding the disarmament of Hezbollah, which is backed by Tehran.
Tehran also demanded the release and transfer of frozen Iranian assets and the lifting of economic sanctions, as the country’s economy deteriorates and soaring prices triggered unprecedented mass protests in early January that were violently suppressed.
Iran has faced decades of U.S. sanctions that restrict its economy and international transactions. The country also saw overseas assets frozen following the Islamic Revolution in 1979. In the absence of official figures, local media estimated the value of those assets at between $100 billion and $123 billion in the spring.
In an exclusive interview with AFP on Tuesday, Revolutionary Guard spokesman Hossein Mohebi said ending hostilities in Yemen was also among Iran’s conditions.
’’It’s up to America to decide whether it wants to end this conflict or not,’’ Pezeshkian told Fox News in an interview in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly, which he attended.
Trump said Tuesday that talks had taken place in New York between Iranian and U.S. officials on the sidelines of the gathering of world leaders.
The U.S. president has so far failed to reach an agreement that would allow the Strait of Hormuz to reopen and ease oil prices. With the midterm elections approaching Nov. 3, a crucial vote for his Republican Party, Trump is facing growing unpopularity over the high cost of living in the United States and surging fuel prices, partly attributed to the war in Iran and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz.
