Mediators are working on a proposal that would reopen the Strait of Hormuz without transit fees for 60 days, restore a ceasefire and bring Washington and Tehran back to negotiations, though Iranian officials disputed reports that an agreement had been reached.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
President Donald Trump said he had suspended plans for additional U.S. strikes against Iran after regional allies outlined the framework of a possible agreement aimed at ending the five-month conflict and restoring shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
The proposal would require the immediate reopening of the strategically important waterway, address Iran’s nuclear program and revive negotiations between Washington and Tehran. No final agreement had been completed, however, and Iranian officials publicly challenged claims that the strait was about to return to its previous operating conditions.
The emerging arrangement “would include the Immediate, Complete, and Total OPENING OF THE HORMUZ STRAIT, and an end to Iran’s nuclear threat,” Trump wrote Saturday evening on social media.
“Based on this request, I have agreed, for the future benefit of the WORLD and, likewise, the survival of a successful and prosperous Iran, to cancel the attack, subject to being able to rapidly make a DEAL,” Trump said.
Trump has announced pauses in U.S. military operations against Iran several times since American and Israeli forces attacked the country Feb. 28. Previous attempts to halt the fighting later collapsed, leading to renewed hostilities.
A mediated proposal would return the United States and Iran to the memorandum of understanding they signed last month, according to a Sunday report by Israel’s Channel 12.
Under the reported terms, the Strait of Hormuz would remain open for 60 days without fees, and the United States and Iran would renew a ceasefire. The earlier memorandum fell apart amid conflicting interpretations of its provisions governing the waterway.
Trump maintained that the agreement required the strait to remain open, while Tehran believed it retained the authority to determine which routes ships could use while passing through the narrow channel.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said Sunday that the Strait of Hormuz “will in no way return to the status it was before February 28th,” referring to the date the war began.
During a telephone interview with Iranian state television, Baghaei said Tehran was discussing maritime traffic through the strait with Oman, which lies across the waterway from Iran. He said there were no current negotiations over reopening the passage.
Iran’s defense minister responded to Trump’s announcement on X by saying the country was “neither surprised nor passive.” He said Iran remained vigilant in response to concrete threats from the United States.
Public statements from Tehran have projected unity around a strategy of military strength and endurance, but divisions appear to be developing inside the country’s theocratic leadership. Some officials oppose negotiations with the United States under any circumstances, while others appear prepared to use military pressure to improve Iran’s position at the bargaining table.
A regional official involved in mediation said the weekend proposal would return the United States and Iran to formal negotiations while allowing the parties to continue working through unresolved issues that blocked earlier progress.
The proposal would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and suspend attacks throughout the region, including strikes by Iranian-backed militias in Iraq against Jordan and Arab Gulf countries, the official said.
In exchange, the United States would lift its naval blockade of Iran and permit Tehran to resume oil exports under the terms contemplated by the tentative ceasefire.
The official cautioned that no agreement had yet been reached and said negotiations remained underway. The official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the mediation publicly.
Trump said Israel had joined his commitment to end the conflict by carrying out the proposed ceasefire arrangement. Israel did not immediately issue a public response to his announcement.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman spoke with Trump by telephone Saturday before the president posted his statement, according to the Saudi Press Agency.
The crown prince raised concerns about the possibility that expanded U.S. military action could lead Iran to retaliate against energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries, according to a person familiar with the substance of the conversation who was not authorized to speak publicly.
Mohammed sought clarification about what additional action Trump was considering against Iran, the person said.
A White House official confirmed that Trump and the Saudi crown prince spoke Saturday but declined to provide details. The official requested anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss the call publicly.
Iran has repeatedly attacked vessels attempting to pass through the Strait of Hormuz without Tehran’s authorization during its continuing conflict with the United States.
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