Trump rejects Iranian peace proposal, leaving the conflict at a stalemate as Tehran warns it is ready for war

Trump confirmed he rejected Tehran’s latest proposal. Oil prices climbed more than 1% in early Asia trading Monday, after Washington dismissed the offer to end the conflict and reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi made the proposal Friday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, offering a seven-day roadmap to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart nuclear talks if Washington accepted Tehran’s conditions. The demands were extensive. According to foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei, they include an end to what Iran calls U.S. ‘acts of aggression,’ the lifting of the naval blockade and economic warfare, and the release of Iranian assets. The war began Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran.

Washington dismisses the offer

Trump confirmed the rejection to reporters. ‘They made a proposal but I rejected it,’ he said. The Wall Street Journal reported that Trump told aides he expects U.S. strikes on Iran to resume after November’s midterm elections. Trump also said he expects more talks with Iran this week and claims Washington is going to win the war ‘very soon.’ Waltz was blunt. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations called the offer a ‘cynical attempt to put something on the table that they knew was unacceptable.’ He said the president will leave all options on the table to ensure the world is safe from Iran holding the world hostage with a nuclear weapon.

Tehran warns it is ready for war

Araghchi said Iran is fully prepared for war if the conflict resumes. He appeared on NBC News’ ‘Meet the Press’ and said he is leaving diplomacy on the table so as not to miss any chance for peace. ‘We are ready to negotiate as much as we are ready to face any challenge ... We stand firm in the face of any aggression against us, even if it comes to a doomsday war,’ Araghchi said. No formal response has come. Intermediaries have yet to relay a formal response from Trump to Tehran, he said. Only a negotiated solution can break the deadlock, Araghchi said. Hatami struck a different tone. ‘The war is not over,’ the Iranian Student News Agency quoted Iran’s army commander-in-chief as saying. ‘We have won, but we must consolidate this victory,’ Hatami asserted. The IRGC navy claimed Sunday to have captured a U.S. Remus 600 underwater drone in the Strait of Hormuz, describing it as an unmanned underwater vehicle belonging to the U.S. military.

Oil markets react

U.S. crude futures for November delivery rose 1.3% to $93.62 a barrel in Monday early Asia trading, while Brent crude rose 1.8% to $106.31 a barrel. The conflict has severely disrupted the Strait of Hormuz, restricting oil and gas exports out of the Persian Gulf and sending prices soaring since the fighting began.