Iran stood firm Sunday on its conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, after US President Donald Trump rejected its proposal, which had created some optimism around the prospect of breaking the war stalemate.

The waterway is key to the world’s energy supply and is now central to the conflict between Washington and Tehran, which was triggered nearly seven months ago with massive strikes on Iran.

Iran’s plan called for a cessation of all hostilities in the Middle East, including in Lebanon, according to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and fulfilling conditions in the ceasefire deal that fell apart months ago.

That agreement, which dissolved during fighting over Hormuz, called for the release of frozen Iranian assets, the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil and an end to a US naval blockade.

“Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent upon these conditions being fulfilled. We will not back down from them,” Araghchi said on Sunday, state broadcaster IRIB reported.

“We have never closed the door to diplomacy or negotiations, but at the same time, we have never backed down from our rights.”

Iran announced a new proposal last week at the UN General Assembly in New York, saying it had been transmitted to the Americans via Qatari mediators. Trump on Saturday rejected the plan and argued that desperation was driving the Iranians’ push for an agreement on the key waterway.

“They want to make a deal where they open the Strait immediately because they’re losing so badly,” he told reporters. “They want to make a deal and I think that’s fine. I like making a deal too.”

Araghchi said on Sunday that the Iranians “saw the first reaction from the US president, but so far, nothing has been conveyed to us by the mediators.”

“We are waiting for the mediators to convey the definitive positions to us, and we will make a decision based on them,” the foreign minister added.

Washington and Tehran signed a memorandum of understanding in June that aimed to end the war, reopen the strait and launch talks on Iran’s nuclear program.

But the deal broke down shortly afterward, when Iran fired on commercial ships in Hormuz that it accused of deviating........

© The Times of Israel