President Donald Trump told reporters Saturday that he had rejected a proposal for a week-long ceasefire with Iran and expects to resume the air war after the November midterm elections.
“They have made a proposal and I rejected it,” Trump said, confirming a Friday report in the Wall Street Journal.
Iran had proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz in return for the U.S. lifting its blockade on Iranian ports. The Journal’s report says the president is skeptical that Iran will accede to his demands. In a Tuesday speech at the UN General Assembly, Trump had said he expected the war to conclude after the midterm elections and threatened to “annihilate” Iran.
Iran’s delegation to the UN, led by President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi, is still in New York. Axios reports that negotiations are ongoing.
At the same time, the American economic campaign against Iran is intensifying, as the Treasury readies new sanctions on banking institutions and airlines that do business with Iranian interests. The Supreme National Security Council denied that it was planning to retaliate militarily over flight restrictions, per a report in Iran’s Tasnim.
Brent crude closed Friday at $104 per barrel. AAA reports a national average of $4.49 per gallon of regular gas and $6.48 per gallon of diesel.
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