U.S. President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s offer to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week, saying the United States would not meet the conditions set by Tehran. The statement came after the Iranian government announced it would resume talks on its nuclear programme if Washington lifted its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waived sanctions on Iranian oil sales and observed a ceasefire that would include Lebanon.
Earlier on Saturday, Trump appeared outside the White House before heading to a college football game and posted a map on Truth Social that labelled the key waterway the “Trump Strait.” The post was the first public indication that the president was weighing Iran’s proposal, which was presented after a week of indirect talks between Iranian officials and U.S. mediators at the United Nations General Assembly.
Semiofficial Iranian media reported that President Masoud Pezeshkian has returned to Tehran from New York following the UN gathering. In a speech to the assembly, the president rebuffed Trump’s threat to “annihilate” the Islamic Republic but said Tehran remained open to diplomacy. He also told CBS that Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “completely healthy” from a medical standpoint, despite the leader’s absence from public view since the February conflict with the United States and Israel began.
Other developments in the region include Saudi Arabia’s claim that it intercepted a ballistic missile fired by Iran‑backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, a move that the Gulf Cooperation Council described as a “grave escalation and threat to regional security.” Iraq has asked the United States for exemptions to sanctions on Iranian airlines to allow humanitarian flights to and from the country, while Israeli settlers have reportedly seized additional water sources in the West Bank, further restricting access for the 2.8 million Palestinians living there.
- Iran’s conditions for reopening the Strait of Hormuz: lift naval blockade, waive oil sanctions, observe a ceasefire including Lebanon.
- Saudi Arabia claims to have destroyed a Houthi‑launched missile aimed at Khamis Mushait.
- Iraq seeks U.S. sanctions exemptions for humanitarian flights to Iranian airports.
- Israeli settlers continue to cut water infrastructure in the Jordan Valley, diverting supplies to new pools.
<small>Source: Yahoo News — read the original story there.</small>