Iran28 September, 20262 min read
Abbas Araghchi Says Iran Expects U.S. Response To Ceasefire Proposal After Trump Rejection
Araghchi expects a formal U.S. response to Tehran's ceasefire proposal after Trump's rejection. Iran pursues indirect talks via mediators in New York on ceasefire terms.
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Ceasefire Response Expected
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran expects a formal response Tuesday from the U.S. to Iran’s latest proposal for a ceasefire and the phased reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
President Trump said Monday that U.S. and Iranian negotiators have engaged in talks via mediators in recent days, but he insisted that he’s offered “nothing,” rejecting a report by Axios that he’s willing to grant Iran some sanctions relief and access to frozen funds.
Iran proposed a seven-day plan for a ceasefire and the phased reopening of the Strait of Hormuz last week, contingent on the U.S. meeting conditions laid out in the mid-June memorandum of understanding that fell apart after several weeks.
Maj. Gen. Mohsen Rezaei said Tuesday that “We stated our conditions, but Trump is incapable of decision-making,” during a meeting with Azerbaijan’s deputy prime minister, Shahin Mustafayev.
Rezaei also called strict sanctions on airlines that went into place last week an “air blockade,” as a sign of “desperation.”
Indirect Talks and Conditions
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi met Qatari mediators in New York on Monday and said he expected a response from Washington by Tuesday.
Araghchi said, “We talked about ideas and how to find solutions to fulfil Iran’s conditions,” and he added that he planned to return to Tehran once a response arrives.
Trump confirmed that U.S. officials had separately spoken with mediators but provided no further details, while Trump said, “We’re going to win. It’s going to go pretty quickly,” at the White House on Monday.
Iran’s proposal gives the U.S. four to five days to release frozen Iranian funds, lift sanctions on Iranian oil, and end the naval blockade of Iranian ports, and it also calls for nuclear talks to begin within seven days.
Kpler data showed total clearance through the Strait of Hormuz at 10,591 kilobarrels a day on Saturday, compared with a pre-war baseline of 17,133 kilobarrels a day.
Sanctions and Regional Ripples
The U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions Tuesday on 10 individuals and companies accused of helping Iran’s military logistics agency acquire weapons and electronics, with targets based in Iran, Beijing, Hong Kong and Pakistan.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement, “Treasury will not tolerate any support to the regime and will continue to identify, expose, and isolate Iran’s enablers,” as the sanctions were framed as part of Operation Economic Outcast.
Iraq began importing gasoline via a Syrian port on Tuesday to bypass the closed Strait of Hormuz, and the first shipment to Iraq arrived at the port on Thursday.
The disruption of the strait sent shock waves through the global economy, and the report said a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas transited through the narrow waterway before the war.
Syria, under interim president Ahmad al-Sharaa, provided an alternative route through the Baniyas port, and the report said markets including the United States and Europe have been using the port.