Trump Rejects Iran's Strait of Hormuz Deal, Plans New Strikes After Midterms
Iran offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, but President Donald Trump turned it down and is now preparing for fresh military action once the U.S. midterm elections are over.
Iran's foreign minister said the Strait of Hormuz can be reopened within seven days if certain conditions are met [250443]. The offer came as the Houthis launched a new wave of missile and drone attacks on Saudi targets on Friday morning [250150]. The Strait of Hormuz is a narrow waterway in the Middle East that connects the Persian Gulf to the Gulf of Oman and the open ocean. About one-fifth of the world's oil passes through it by ship, so any closure can disrupt global energy supplies and raise oil prices [250422].
Iran's Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, presented the proposal to Trump's envoy, Steve Witkoff, a day earlier. The two met on the sidelines of a United Nations gathering in New York. The plan called for the Strait of Hormuz to reopen seven days after both sides reached an agreement [250463]. No reason was given for Trump's rejection.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump rejected Iran's offer of a truce to reopen the Strait of Hormuz. The newspaper says Washington is instead betting on economic pressure to force Tehran to back down. The report adds that the White House plans to renew military strikes on Iran after the U.S. midterm elections [250526].
Bahrain said Gulf states and Jordan have faced nearly 7,000 missile and drone attacks from Iran. The kingdom rejected a proposed permit and fee system for ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz [250529].
The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) condemned missile and drone attacks by the Houthi group on Saudi Arabia. The GCC called the attacks a "perilous escalation" and a "flagrant violation" of the kingdom's sovereignty. It said the strikes pose an immediate threat to civilian safety and regional stability [250512].
The Houthis said they carried out missile and drone attacks on Saudi Arabia's capital, Riyadh, and on an Aramco oil facility in the city of Yanbu. Aramco is Saudi Arabia's state-owned oil company, one of the largest in the world. Yanbu is a major port city on the country's Red Sea coast and home to key oil facilities. The Houthis have launched repeated attacks on Saudi targets in recent years. The group controls large parts of northern Yemen and has been fighting a Saudi-led coalition since 2015 [249128].
Saudi Arabia's crude oil exports have reached their highest level since the Iran war began, even as attacks on its energy infrastructure escalate. Iran-backed militants in Yemen and Iraq have repeatedly targeted Saudi oil facilities. A pipeline outage has also disrupted operations. Despite these setbacks, the kingdom continues to increase exports [250151].
The US military announced on Friday that it has redirected 122 commercial ships as part of its naval blockade on Iran [250094].
Two crew members were slightly injured when an oil tanker was hit in the Strait of Hormuz, Britain's Maritime Trade Operations said. The tanker is continuing its voyage to its next port of call under its own power [247387].