Trump said US negotiators were likely to engage Iran again as Qatari mediators continued efforts to narrow differences between Washington and Tehran. The president said Iran wanted an agreement, but its terms were not acceptable to him and represented conditions Washington might have considered a year earlier.
Asked whether he was considering renewed US strikes against Iran, Trump said he was “always thinking about it”, leaving military action on the table while anticipating further diplomacy.
Trump said Iran had “overplayed their hand”, while Araghchi said Tehran was still waiting for mediators to convey Washington’s definitive position before deciding its response.
The disagreement also extends to the scope of any renewed negotiations. Washington wants nuclear concessions to form a central part of talks, while Tehran has emphasised the blockade, sanctions and Hormuz arrangements. Araghchi said wider negotiations could begin on mutually agreed subjects if the immediate package were accepted.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, meanwhile, said Tehran had not received a formal rejection through mediators and remained committed to its conditions. He said reopening the Strait of Hormuz depended on those requirements being met and argued that negotiations offered the only route out of the standoff.
The proposal presented by Tehran during diplomatic contacts around the UN General Assembly in New York envisaged a seven-day countdown towards reopening the strait and pausing regional hostilities. Iran sought an end to the US naval blockade, relief from sanctions affecting its oil sales and implementation of earlier ceasefire provisions, including access to frozen assets.
Trump publicly rejected the proposal on Saturday. His administration has argued that Tehran was seeking major concessions before undertaking broader negotiations, over its nuclear programme.
US ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said on Sunday that the administration objected to Iran seeking sanctions relief and other benefits before substantive negotiations. He said Trump was not confident Tehran would negotiate in good faith over ending its nuclear programme.
Iran has rejected that characterisation. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Tehran was prepared to discuss its nuclear programme and other issues but would not accept coercion. He said Iran did not seek war and maintained that the country was not supposed to develop nuclear weapons.
The competing positions leave Qatar at the centre of efforts to keep indirect diplomacy moving. Qatari officials have been passing messages between the sides, and mediators were expected to continue further separate contacts with Araghchi and US envoy Steve Witkoff.
Witkoff and Jared Kushner held indirect talks with Araghchi on the sidelines of the UN gathering last Tuesday, with Qatari officials relaying messages. Those discussions focused on conditions for reopening Hormuz and restarting negotiations.
The strait remains the most immediate point of contention because restrictions on shipping have disrupted a route that carried a fifth of global oil demand before the war. Washington has imposed an economic and naval blockade on Iran, saying it is intended to pressure Tehran to stop attacks on vessels.
Trump said US forces were facilitating oil shipments through Hormuz and claimed more than 20 million barrels had transited during the weekend. A US defence official said 22 million barrels were exported through the strait on Friday night.
Tehran maintains that access to the waterway is tied to its ability to trade. Iran’s army commander, Amir Hatami, said the country would not accept a situation in which Iran was prevented from trading while others continued using regional waterways.
Araghchi said Iran had not closed the door to diplomacy despite Trump’s public rejection. He also said Tehran was prepared for renewed fighting if attacked, underscoring the tension surrounding mediation while insisting Iran would not retreat from what it regards as its rights.
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