Iran’s latest attempt to halt the confrontation began Friday at the U.N. General Assembly, where Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear negotiations within seven days—if Washington met its conditions. “If certain conditions are met, the Strait of Hormuz will be open at the end of seven days, and talks will be restarted,” he said.¹

Those conditions were substantial: an end to what Tehran calls U.S. aggression, the naval blockade and economic warfare, plus the release of frozen Iranian assets. The offer came as the conflict, which began with U.S. and Israeli airstrikes on Feb. 28, continued to constrain energy shipments and unsettle global markets. Even so, talks through mediators were reportedly still under way, focused in part on U.S. demands aimed at preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.¹

By Saturday, Trump had publicly brushed off the proposal. “They want to make a deal and I think that’s fine,” he told reporters, adding that Iran was “losing so badly.” His conclusion was blunt: “I’d like to make a deal, too. But that deal would not be acceptable.”²

The rejection reflects Washington’s calculation that the balance is moving in its favor. U.S.-protected tanker traffic through Hormuz has risen sharply, with Tanker Trackers estimating 13 million barrels a day were clearing the blockade line—roughly double the volume of less than a month earlier.² Daytime transits, enabled by U.S. military escorts and mine-clearing operations, have helped ease the immediate shipping squeeze, though volumes remain below prewar levels and costs remain punishing.

That does not mean the wider conflict has cooled. Iran-backed Houthi forces have intensified attacks on Saudi Arabia; the Saudi-led coalition said it intercepted two drones aimed at Riyadh and two ballistic missiles headed toward Khamis Mushait.¹ Trump, meanwhile, has reportedly told aides he expects renewed bombing after the midterm elections—an indication that Iran’s seven-day off-ramp has collided with a White House willing to wait.²