Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi put the onus on the United States to agree to a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in comments to reporters Friday, claiming that Iran is ready to make peace with the U.S.
His claims come at the end of the United Nations General Assembly meeting, during which Iranian and U.S. negotiators met for over three hours in sideline talks. Washington has been eyeing relief from high energy prices due to the Strait of Hormuz closure ahead of the midterm elections, and Iran seeks relief from the U.S. military’s port blockade and airstrikes that have damaged much of its navy and war-fighting powers.
“Iran has conveyed to the United States, through Qatar, a concrete seven-day plan,” Araghchi said. “If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened, [and] a normal maritime passage restored within seven days. The choice now rests with the United States.”
President Donald Trump rejected the Iran ceasefire late Friday evening and vowed to resume strikes following the midterm elections, according to a recent report from the Wall Street Journal. The ceasefire proposal had exchanged a reprieve from the U.S. blockade on Iranian ports in the Strait of Hormuz for Iran reopening the rest of the strait and resuming talks over its nuclear program, per the outlet.
“Diplomacy is not surrender, and peace cannot be built through threats of annihilation,” Araghchi told reporters, referencing Trump’s repeated threats to destroy Iranian society during the war, most recently during his speech to the U.N. General Assembly.
In Trump’s speech before the U.N. in New York City on Tuesday, he told the international body that he had “a big decision to make” on how to proceed with the war in Iran.
“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? Do I drive them into hell with no chance of survival and no hope of future greatness or generations?” Trump said.
The conversation about the timing surrounding the midterm elections comes as the war has become increasingly unpopular among midterm candidates, with several Republicans breaking from the White House in their rhetoric on the conflict. Trump has predicted that Iran is waiting until after the midterms to reach a deal “to try and affect the election.”
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“I think the war is going to end immediately after the election,” Trump said. “I think the war will end immediately after the election because they can’t hold out any longer.”
The Washington Examiner has reached out to the White House for comment on the Wall Street Journal report.