US President Donald Trump rejected a seven-day ceasefire proposal by Iran, in recent developments in the ongoing conflict in West Asia. Trump is eyeing fresh military escalations against Tehran post-US midterm elections.
According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, President Trump rejected Iran’s proposal for a seven-day ceasefire. Quoting US officials, Trump told his aides he expects to resume strikes against Iran after the November midterms
The development aligns with the recent open threat of annihilating Iran that US President made from the stage of the 81st UNGA session.
“I have a big decision to make. Will a deal be made with Iran that lets them rebuild and create a far greater country than it ever was before? Maybe one of the greatest in the Middle East or even the world. Or do I annihilate the Islamic Republic, and do it quickly, never giving them a chance to kill and destroy people and countries again? But I believe we’ll make a deal right after the election, because it doesn’t make sense for them not to,” he told the Assembly on September 22.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi announced on Thursday that Tehran has put forward a seven-day proposal aimed at ending the conflict in West Asia.
Under the plan, he said that the Strait of Hormuz would be reopened, after which comprehensive negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program would begin.
Speaking to reporters at the United Nations General Assembly, Araghchi said the initiative closely resembles the memorandum of understanding (MoU) reached between the United States and Iran in June.
“We have introduced a plan to the United States through intermediaries that if certain conditions are met, the Strait of Hormuz would be open on the end of the seventh day and talks would restart… it would be better if a deal was reached before the U.S. midterm elections,” he stated.
In a separate meeting with German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Araghchi emphasized that Iran has already communicated its reasonable conditions and requirements to the American side for advancing diplomacy.
He stressed that lasting regional security depends on an end to U.S. interventionist and aggressive actions against Iran.
The foreign minister reaffirmed Iran’s commitment to diplomacy over its peaceful nuclear program, noting that no party can overlook Tehran’s good-faith efforts in the talks or ignore the U.S. and Israeli military strikes carried out against Iran while negotiations were underway, strikes that some have used to portray Iran as the source of insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in an interview with Fox News, held US President Donald Trump and the American side responsible for the failure to implement the settlement both sides had negotiated in June.
“We did reach an agreement with your president; that agreement was signed, and based on that, we are willing and still wish to move forward. And the framework was agreed upon. We had not closed the Strait of Hormuz; it was open, without any legal justification or framework… They attacked us. They assassinated and martyred our esteemed supreme leader; our scientists, military commanders and government. The problem is that America, instead of conducting dialogue, they descend into the arena by bombing us first, by blocking every pathway. We are ready,” Pezeshkian said.
With Trump having rejected the latest Iranian peace overture, tensions in West Asia are expected to escalate further once the US midterm elections conclude.
(with ANI inputs)
