TRUMP DOUBTS IRAN DEAL, PLANS RENEWED STRIKES AFTER MIDTERMS: WSJ

Sat 26 September 2026:

US President Donald Trump has turned down a seven-day truce offer from Iran and told aides he expects to launch new strikes once November’s midterm elections are finished, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on Friday.

The Journal, citing officials familiar with the matter, said Iranian negotiators floated the offer through mediators in Qatar, proposing to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart nuclear talks if Washington ended its naval blockade of Iranian ports.

US officials told Tehran and the mediators there is no plan to lift the blockade, calculating that continued economic strain will eventually force Iran into an agreement on Washington’s terms, the report said.

It suggested that Trump has cycled between diplomatic outreach, military action and sanctions pressure throughout the seven-month war, and voiced doubt internally that Tehran will agree to dismantle its nuclear program, despite public claims that Iran is eager to make a deal once the election passes.

The newspaper added that Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps has dismissed new settlement terms, instead seeking a return to elements of a preliminary June accord and said it is ready for a drawn-out conflict.

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What we know about Iran’s Hormuz proposal

Iran has officially submitted to the US a seven-day plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, according to Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.

Here is what to know:

◾ Araghchi said the plan was passed on through Qatar and that normal maritime passage could be restored within seven days “if the necessary conditions are met”.

◾ According to media reports, the plan calls for a seven-day halt to all hostilities in the region, including in Lebanon.
It would also include the release of at least $12bn in frozen Iranian assets; the lifting of sanctions on Iranian oil; and an end to the US naval blockade.

◾ Araghchi told reporters at the UN on Friday that initial steps would take four to five days, the Strait of Hormuz would reopen on the sixth day and “on day seven, the talks with the US will be started for the final deal on mutually agreed subjects,” referring to Iran’s nuclear programme.

◾ “The choice now rests with the United States. Iran does not accept coercion, threats, or intimidation, and Iran will not surrender its sovereign rights under pressure,” Araghchi said.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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