Trump rejects Iran's offer on Hormuz, US preparing possible strikes
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US President Donald Trump has rejected Iran’s offer to ease restrictions in the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for an end to the US military campaign and economic blockade, according to a report by Axios.
Trump said the blockade would remain in place and warned that military action remained an option if Iran failed to act.
Axios also reported that the US Central Command has prepared a short wave of strikes targeting Iran.
According to The Associated Press, Iran conveyed its proposal to US officials through Pakistan. The offer reportedly came during a fragile ceasefire between Washington and Tehran.
Under the proposal, Iran suggested that negotiations on its nuclear programme be postponed until the conflict formally ends and tensions over shipping in the Persian Gulf are resolved.
US officials have signalled they are unwilling to accept any agreement that delays addressing Iran’s nuclear activities.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said nuclear restrictions must remain central to any deal with Tehran.
“We have to ensure that any deal that is made, any agreement that is made, is one that definitively prevents them from sprinting towards a nuclear weapon at any point,” Rubio said in an interview with Fox News.
The dispute has focused on the Strait of Hormuz, a key global shipping route between Iran and Oman through which nearly one-fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas passes. Iranian restrictions on shipping have disrupted global energy supplies and stranded oil tankers, while the US blockade aims to cut off Iran’s oil exports.
The conflict, which began after US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, has pushed up oil and fuel prices globally and increased pressure on Gulf countries that rely on the strait for energy exports.