US President Donald Trump has rejected a proposal by Iran to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz and told aides he expects to resume bombing Iran after the November midterm elections, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, citing US officials.

The officials said that Trump was reluctant, however, to resume major combat operations, noting that his views could change and could be swayed by the results of the US midterm elections in November.

Iran proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz and ending the fighting in the wider Middle East war during the diplomatic initiative at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying it had been ‌transmitted to the Americans via Qatari mediators.

They awaited an official US response to its proposal on Saturday.

The Iranians also engaged their Saudi rivals regarding the strait, underscoring the stakes of a seven-month-old conflict that has disrupted oil flows through one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes and taken a toll on the global economy.

Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas met for talks on Tuesday with Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff, and previously set out conditions for ending the war and reopening the vital shipping channel.

“If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened, and normal maritime passage restored within seven days,” Araghchi said at the UN.

The waterway key to the world’s oil supply is central to the conflict between the United States and Iran, which is at a stalemate after nearly seven months.

If the US were to agree, the warring parties could start wider talks “on mutually agreed subjects,” ⁠Araqchi  added.

That could potentially include discussions of Iran’s nuclear program. Trump has vowed that Tehran will never acquire a nuclear bomb, while a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran will show no........

© The Times of Israel