The US president reportedly dismissed on Tuesday a Tehran proposal that would have seen vital shipping lanes re-opened in return for pushing back negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme.
White House turns down Tehran’s overture
Donald Trump, the US president, has declined to support an Iranian proposal to postpone nuclear negotiations in exchange for the resumption of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, according to two officials familiar with the matter.
The officials told CNN that Tehran had offered to allow the resumption of passage through the crucial waterway provided that discussions over Iran’s nuclear activities were moved to a later phase of talks.
According to sources, President Trump “did not respond positively” to the initiative. In their assessment, re-opening the Strait of Hormuz before resolving disagreements over the nuclear issue could “weaken US leverage.”
Earlier, Iran had presented Washington with a new proposal linking the resumption of shipping through the strait to shifting nuclear talks to later stages of the negotiating process.
War, oil prices and the closure of the Strait
The conflict, which erupted on February 28 following joint US and Israeli strikes, prompted Iran to close the Strait of Hormuz – one of the world’s most critical energy supply routes. In response, oil prices surged by nearly 65% compared with pre-war levels.
Despite a US-Iran ceasefire agreement reached on 8 April, Pakistan-mediated talks proved fruitless. On April 13, President Trump announced the imposition of a naval blockade on Iran, after which US forces began intercepting Iran-linked vessels entering or leaving the strait.
Lebanon truce offers temporary reprieve
On April 17, following a ceasefire in Lebanon, Iran announced that commercial vessels would be permitted to transit the strait during the truce, subject to coordination with the Iranian navy. However, after the US declared it would maintain the naval blockade, Tehran reimposed restrictions on passage through the strait.
Amid rising tensions, the US attacked and seized several Iranian merchant vessels in the Gulf of Oman and the Indian Ocean. In retaliation, Iran detained a number of ships near the Strait of Hormuz, including some linked to Israel.
