Donald Trump rejects Iran’s proposal to reopen Strait of Hormuz

Donald Trump (Rod Lamkey Jr/AP)

Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week if the US meets certain conditions.

The US president spoke to reporters on Saturday outside the White House before leaving for a college football game.

Tehran offered this week to reopen the strait and resume talks on its nuclear programme in seven days if the US lifted its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waived sanctions on Iranian oil sales and observed a ceasefire that would include Lebanon.

Earlier on Saturday Mr Trump posted an image on his Truth Social platform of the Strait of Hormuz labelled “Trump Strait”, in the first public indication of his thinking after Iran proposed the new deal and suggested it might help him ahead of US mid-term elections.

The White House on Friday said only that US officials were having positive and constructive conversations with mediators on the Iran war.

Iranian media outlets said President Masoud Pezeshkian had left New York after the United Nations gathering of world leaders that included Iran’s indirect talks with the US.

His speech to the gathering pushed back against Mr Trump’s latest threat to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic, but he ended by saying Tehran remained open to diplomacy.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabian military spokesman Major General Turki al-Malki claimed early on Saturday that a ballistic missile launched by Iran-backed Houthi rebels in neighbouring Yemen had been intercepted and destroyed. He said it was fired towards the south-western city of Khamis Mushait.