Trump rejects Iran's latest peace offer as the war enters its eighth month
Seven months after the United States went to war with Iran, negotiators met in New York in the first talks since June. President Trump rejected Tehran's offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for ending the US naval blockade.
New York: Seven months after the United States went to war with Iran, American and Iranian negotiators sat down in New York this week in their first talks since June — but there was no measurable progress toward ending the fighting.
On 26 September, President Donald Trump rejected a proposal from Tehran to fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for an end to the US naval blockade, officials said. The United States countered with an offer of sanctions relief and the release of frozen Iranian funds in exchange for concessions on Iran's nuclear programme. Trump publicly denied reports that he had offered to ease sanctions as part of a deal, writing on social media: "I offered them NOTHING!"
Trump has demanded that Iran abandon its nuclear programme as the price of ending the war, a condition Tehran has so far refused. With November midterm elections approaching, analysts say the president may wait until after the vote to decide whether to strike a deal, while Americans grow increasingly weary of the war.
The burst of meetings on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly keeps the door open to diplomacy, but the gap between the two sides' terms remains wide.
Sources
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