Iran insists on diplomacy after Trump rejects peace plan

Iran reiterated on Sunday that diplomacy remains the only solution to its conflict with the United States and Israel, after US President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and halt hostilities.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi wrote on social media, "Our conditions are clear, and any move to reopen the Strait of Hormuz depends on meeting these conditions."

He added, "Only a negotiated solution can get them out of this impasse."

Iran announced its peace proposal last week during the United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying the plan had been relayed to the US side through Qatari mediators. Trump said on Saturday that he rejected the plan, claiming Iran's desperation was driving it to seek an agreement over the strategic waterway.

"They want to make a deal to open the Strait of Hormuz immediately because they are suffering heavy losses," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Despite Trump's public statements, Araghchi noted that mediators in the US-Iran talks had not officially conveyed an American rejection of the plan.

Araghchi wrote, "We are waiting for the mediators to deliver the final viewpoints, and we will make a decision accordingly."

The United States has imposed an economic blockade on Iran to pressure it to halt attacks on ships in the Strait of Hormuz, which have led to a sharp decline in maritime traffic through the strait, even as Trump repeatedly asserts that the US controls the waterway.