Iran demands diplomatic solution to peace after Trump rejects peace plan

I ran on Sunday, insisting that only diplomacy could solve the conflict between Iran and Israel and the United States after US President Donald Trump stated he had rejected an Iranian proposal to open?the Strait of Hormuz.

Abbas Araqchi, Iranian Foreign Minister, posted on social media: "Our conditions are very clear.?And?any movement toward reopening of the Strait of Hormuz depends on meeting these conditions." Only a negotiated resolution can help them get out of the deadlock.

Iran said it had sent a peace plan to the Americans through Qatari mediators earlier this week, at the UN General Assembly meeting in New York. Trump said on Saturday that he rejects the plan, and believes the Iranians are desperate to reach an agreement over the waterway.

Trump told reporters in the White House that "they want to make a?deal to open the Hormuz Strait as soon as possible because they are losing so badly."

Araqchi says that despite Trump's public comments, the mediators who facilitate US-Iran discussions with the United States did not formally?relay a US rejection to the plan.

"We will wait for the mediators' final views and then make a decision," posted?Araqchi.

The US has imposed a blockade against Iran in order to pressure Tehran into stopping Iranian attacks on vessels on the Strait of Hormuz. This has drastically reduced shipping to the area, even though Trump continues to assert that the US controls this waterway.

The Wall Street Journal reported first that Trump rejected the Iranian proposal citing anonymous US officials.

Trump is said to be 'privately sceptical that Iran will meet his demands? and has told his staff he believes a new bombing campaign after the US midterm elections in November would be likely.

An official from the US had earlier said that the discussions between Iran and mediators were positive and constructive.

CONFLICT HAS DROPPED OIL FLOWS AND HARMED THE GLOBAL ECONOMIC

The Iranians engaged their Saudi counterparts in the Strait of Hormuz. This underscored the stakes of the seven-month conflict which has disrupted the oil flow through an important shipping lane, and taken a heavy toll on global economics.

Araqchi, speaking to reporters at the United Nations Friday, said that the proposed agreement would lead to a seven-day reopening of the strait as well as a pause in the regional fighting.

Araqchi stated that "if there is seriousness from the US side in coming to an agreement and reopening the Strait of Hormuz everything is prepared." If the US agreed, the warring sides could begin wider discussions "on mutually-agreed subjects."

This?could include discussions about Iran's nuclear programme. Trump said Tehran should never have a nuclear weapon, and a senior Iranian official told that Iran would not show any flexibility in its nuclear program if the US accepts its peace agreement.

The official stated that Iran would not give up any of its rights including enriching uranium and shipping out its highly enriched Uranium.

Masoud Pezeshkian said in an interview on CBS's "Face the Nation" that Tehran is ready to talk about its nuclear program and other issues but will not accept "bullying or compulsion".

Pezeshkian added that Iran had already agreed to not develop nuclear weapons.

Diplomacy has failed to resolve the conflict that began February 28 when US and Israeli strikes on Israel.

Since then, the war has alternated with pauses followed by renewed attacks. This has resulted in thousands of deaths while also degrading Iran’s conventional forces.

Iran and its allies have responded by spreading the conflict across the entire region. Iran has used drones and missiles to attack US allies within the Gulf, while its Houthi ally in Yemen has targeted Saudi interests.

(source: Reuters)