Trump ‘rejects’ Iran’s seven-day ceasefire proposal. What’s next? | US-Israeli war against Iran

US President Donald Trump has reportedly ruled out an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week, according to anonymous US officials cited by the Wall Street Journal.

Trump’s rejection comes just hours after Iran presented a new road map for opening the strait, through which a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas is shipped in peacetime – and days after the US president threatened to “annihilate” Iran from the UN General Assembly.

Here’s what we know about Trump’s response to the proposal and what could come next in the conflict.

What was in the Iranian seven-day proposal?

The proposal lays out a roadmap to open the Strait of Hormuz to normal maritime passage within a week.

Speaking to reporters on Friday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said the proposal called on the United States to take the steps it committed to under the failed June 17 Islamabad memorandum of understanding within an expedited timeline.

These actions include releasing $12 billion in frozen Iranian assets, lifting Iranian oil sanctions and ending the U.S. naval blockade on Iranian ports, Araghchi told reporters at a private press briefing on Thursday, according to the New York Times. He also said that all hostilities, including in Lebanon, where Israel still occupies part of the south of the country, must cease during this seven-day period.

Araghchi said that once the US conditions were met – which he said would take four or five days – the Strait of Hormuz could be reopened and negotiations with the US on a “final deal” would begin on the seventh day.

He said the process could begin as soon as the United States agrees to the plan.

“The choice now lies with the United States,” Araghchi said. “Iran does not accept coercion, threats or intimidation.”

How did the United States react?

The US government has not responded publicly to this project.

However, the Wall Street Journal reported that Trump quickly ruled out the possibility, citing unnamed U.S. officials.

They said Trump was skeptical of Iran’s ability to meet U.S. demands. Trump’s most persistent demands have been that Iran never acquire nuclear weapons and that he restore free passage to Hormuz.

Iran says it will not discuss its nuclear program until the conditions it has set are met, leading to a standoff between the two sides.

Meanwhile, a US official told Al Jazeera that Washington was in no rush to respond to the Iranian proposal and considered itself in a strong position regarding the Strait of Hormuz.

Late Friday evening, Trump posted an image of a map on his Truth Social platform that labeled it “Trump Strait.”

Trump has previously said the United States has “total control” over the waterway and threatened to designate it as U.S. territory. Iran has strongly denied this, saying it has full control of the strait.

Are peace negotiations still ongoing?

Yes, but mostly indirectly. At the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, Qatar passed messages between the two sides as an intermediary.

The United States and Iran have said the door to diplomacy remains open and a US official told Al Jazeera that ongoing mediation talks are “positive and constructive”.

Qatar, a key mediator in the conflict, said its foreign minister spoke with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian on Friday about de-escalation and conditions for renewed dialogue.

Earlier this week, U.S. officials, including special envoys Jared Kushner and Steve Witkoff, held high-profile discussions with their Iranian counterparts in New York, a meeting that Trump called “very good.”

Still, there is “tremendous skepticism in Washington that the two countries are on the same page,” according to Thomas Warrick, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council.

“I think the best we can hope for is that this offer from the Iranian foreign minister leads to further discussions to try to clarify the preconditions that Washington is willing to work with,” Warrick told Al Jazeera.

Where is the confrontation between the United States and Iran heading from now on?

Perhaps towards a resumption of hostilities.

According to U.S. officials cited in the Wall Street Journal, Trump told aides he planned to wage a new bombing campaign against Iran after the U.S. midterm elections in November.

It comes after Trump told the UN General Assembly that he plans to “wipe out” Iran and “take it to hell” in the absence of a deal.

At the same time, Trump said he believed an agreement ending the conflict would come soon after the midterms.

Paul Musgrave, an associate professor of government at Georgetown University in Qatar, told Al Jazeera that Trump “does not want to end the war on unfavorable terms” and that the outcome of the November election will likely help guide his policies.

If Trump’s Republican Party suffers serious setbacks in the election — and loses its majority in Congress — it could opt for “unilateral actions, including perhaps a resumption of war,” Musgrave said.

“It would also mean that Iran would have dealt a very stinging political blow to President Trump,” Musgrave continued, adding that it could trigger a short-term escalation, “followed by negotiations so that the White House does not appear to be surrendering.”