President Donald Trump has said he had rejected a proposal put forward by Iran, speaking to reporters as he left the White House for a campaign visit to Tennessee.
"I reject their proposal," Trump said on Saturday.
"They want to make a deal where they open the strait immediately because they're losing so badly," he said.
"They want to make a deal, and I think that's fine. I like making a deal too," he added.
Iran offered the US a plan to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz and said that Tehran could reopen Hormuz within seven days if the US accepts a plan it conveyed through Qatar.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told reporters in New York on the sidelines of the 81st UN General Assembly that the seven-day timeline would begin once Washington accepts the proposal.
He said the US would be expected to take steps within the first four or five days, allowing the strait to reopen on day six.
Earlier in the week, Araghchi held talks with Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and previously set out conditions for ending the war and reopening the vital shipping channel.
"Iran has conveyed to the United States, through Qatar, a concrete seven-day plan. If the necessary conditions are met, the strait can be reopened, and normal maritime passage restored within seven days," Araghchi said at the UN.
"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," he added.
Under the plan, Washington would lift its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waive sanctions on Iranian oil sales, release an estimated $12B in frozen Iranian assets and observe a ceasefire covering the region, including Lebanon and Yemen.
In return, Iran would reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
However, within hours of his comments, The Wall Street Journal reported Trump had rejected the proposal, citing US officials familiar with the matter.
Hossein Mohebi, a spokesperson for Iran's Revolutionary Guard, was quoted by Tasnim news agency as saying, "We will not cease punishing the US until Iran's seven conditions are met."
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