Iran insists on diplomacy after Trump rejects plan

TEHRAN — Iran insisted on Sunday that only diplomacy can solve its conflict with the United States and Israel after US President Donald Trump said he rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end fighting.

"Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi posted on social media. "Only a negotiated solution can get them out of this deadlock."

Iran had earlier announced a peace proposal at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying it had been transmitted to the Americans via Qatari mediators. Trump said on Saturday that he rejected the plan, saying desperation was driving the Iranians' push for an agreement on the key waterway.

"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.

Despite Trump's public statements, mediators facilitating Iran's talks with the US have not officially relayed a US rejection of the plan, Araghchi said.

"We are waiting for the mediators to convey the definitive views to us, and we will make a decision based on them," Araghchi posted.

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Trump had rejected the Iranian proposal, citing unnamed US officials.

It said Trump was privately skeptical that Iran would meet his demands and had told his staff that he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely after the November US midterm elections.

A US official had said earlier that discussions with Iran through mediators were "positive and constructive".

Araghchi told reporters at the United Nations on Friday that the proposed deal would trigger a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait and a pause in regional fighting.

"If there is seriousness on the US side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared," he said. If the US were to agree, the warring parties could start wider talks "on mutually agreed subjects".

Nuclear discussions

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 US accepted its peace deal.

Iran would grant no concessions over its rights, including enriching uranium or shipping its highly enriched uranium out of the country, the official said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in an interview with the CBS show Face the Nation, said Tehran was ready for talks on its nuclear program and other issues, but would not accept "bullying or coercion".

"Iran is not seeking war, but will defend itself against pressure, threats and attacks," Pezeshkian said, adding that it had already agreed that "we're not supposed to develop nuclear weapons".

Meanwhile, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said on Sunday that they seized an "advanced smart" unmanned submarine belonging to the US Army in the Strait of Hormuz.

AGENCIES-XINHUA