Trump rejects Iran’s conditional ceasefire proposal, WSJ reports

President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s conditional proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, telling aides he plans to resume bombing the country after November’s midterm elections, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

Meanwhile, Saudi-led coalition forces in Yemen said they had intercepted projectiles fired by Iran-backed Houthi rebels.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi offered Friday to reopen the strategically vital strait and resume nuclear negotiations with the United States within seven days if the Trump administration agrees to his terms.

“If certain conditions are met, the Strait of Hormuz will be opened after seven days and negotiations will resume,” Araghchi told reporters on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

The conditions imposed on Tehran include stopping what it calls US “acts of aggression,” ending the naval blockade and economic warfare, and releasing Iranian assets, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said this week.

Trump said earlier this month that he expects the war, which began Feb. 28 with U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Iran, to end shortly after the midterms and for oil prices to fall afterward.

But privately, Trump doubts that Iran will meet his demands and has told aides that he considers a new bombing campaign likely, officials were quoted as saying by the WSJ.

CNBC could not immediately confirm the information.

The Journal quoted a U.S. official as saying that Washington and Tehran were still negotiating through mediators, including on U.S. demands to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon.

Although direct fighting between U.S. and Iranian forces has been significantly reduced in recent weeks, Iran-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen have stepped up attacks against their neighbor and U.S. ally, Saudi Arabia.

The Saudi-backed Coalition to Support Legitimacy in Yemen “intercepted and destroyed” two drones launched by the Houthi militia towards the Saudi capital Riyadh, as well as two ballistic missiles targeting the Khamis Mushait region near the southwestern city of Abha, Colonel Turki Al-Maliki, the coalition’s official spokesperson, said in a series of messages on X.

The Houthis said last Saturday they had attacked “sensitive” sites in Riyadh shortly after flames and smoke were seen near the city’s main airport. Saudi Arabia said earlier this month that its air defenses had destroyed a Houthi drone heading toward the holy city of Mecca, a claim the group denied.

The war has severely restricted energy shipments from the Middle East, sending oil prices soaring and raising concerns about accelerating inflation globally.

But crude prices fell sharply during the week as Tehran and Washington held talks on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly.

West Texas Intermediate fell 2.3% to close at $92.41 a barrel. Brent, the international benchmark, fell 2.1% to $104.32. US crude ended the week down 7.9%, while Brent was flat.

WTI is up almost 61% year to date, while Brent crude is up more than 71% over the same period.