Iran insists on 'negotiated solution' as Trump rejects peace proposal

Iran's Revolutionary Guards said that they seized a US submarine drone in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which Tehran has blockaded in the months-long Middle East war.

"Through a coordinated, complex operation involving intelligence oversight and electronic warfare, IRGC naval forces' personnel successfully captured an advanced unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV) belonging to the terrorist US military," the IRGC naval forces said in a statement, according to state TV.

The top commander of Iran's army says the Hormuz Strait will remain closed until economic warfare by the United States comes to an end.

'Strait of honor'

"The Strait of Hormuz is the strait of our honor, and we will not allow the enemies of the country to use this great logistical bottleneck," Iran military official Amir Hatami told a gathering of the armed forces.

"We have said this many times that if the region is to be insecure, it is insecurity for everyone… If Iran can't do business and if Iran can't live, no one can trade and live," state media quoted him as saying.

Meanwhile, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said that he had sent envoys around the world to pressure countries to economically isolate Iran, hailing new restrictions targeting the country's airlines and banks.

Bessent noted that Turkiye and Oman have halted incoming flights from private carrier Mahan Air, while the United Arab Emirates has stopped all flights by Iranian airlines.

Dubai, the UAE's commercial hub, is a major destination for Iran's carriers, with multiple daily flights, a large Iranian community and close business links.

Iran's ISNA news agency, citing officials, reported that five countries had revoked the Islamic republic's flight permits: Azerbaijan, Georgia, Iraq, Oman and the UAE.

'Negotiated solution' only option

Iran insisted that only diplomacy can solve its conflict with the United States and Israel after US President Donald Trump said he rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end fighting.

"Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the Strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met," Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi posted on social media. "Only a negotiated solution can get them out of this deadlock."

Iran announced a peace proposal last week at the UN General Assembly in New York, saying it had been transmitted to the Americans via Qatari mediators. Trump said he rejected the plan and argued that desperation was driving the Iranians’ push for an agreement on the key waterway.

"They want to make a deal to open the Hormuz Strait immediately because they're losing so badly," Trump told reporters at the White House.

Despite Trump's public statements, mediators facilitating Iran's talks with the United States have not officially relayed a US rejection of the plan, according to Araqchi.

"We are waiting for the mediators to convey the definitive views to us, and we will make a decision based on them," Araqchi posted.

Freedom of navigation

Saudi Arabia warned UN members that attempts to block Middle East waterways are a threat to global energy security and demanded the international community do more to defend freedom of navigation.

"The international community has been absent from assuming its responsibilities in confronting all that threatens international peace and security," Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan told the United Nations General Assembly.

"The kingdom stresses the importance of guaranteeing the protection of freedom of navigation in all international waterways, foremost among them the Strait of Hormuz, the Bab al-Mandab Strait, the Red Sea, the Gulf of Aden," he said.

"The kingdom rejects any party's use of these vital passages as a tool for pressure, threat, or harm to the interests of states, in a manner consistent with international law and relevant United Nations resolutions," he said.

The US has imposed an economic blockade on Iran to put pressure on Tehran to stop Iranian attacks on vessels in the Strait of Hormuz, which have drastically reduced shipping through the area even as Trump repeatedly asserts that the US controls the waterway.

Renewed bombing campaign likely - Reports

The Wall Street Journal first reported that Trump had rejected the Iranian proposal, citing unnamed US officials.

It said Trump was privately skeptical that Iran would meet his demands and had told his staff that he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely after the November US midterm elections.

A US official had said earlier that discussions with Iran through mediators were "positive and constructive."

The Iranians also engaged their Saudi counterparts regarding the Strait of Hormuz, underscoring the stakes of a seven-month-old conflict that has disrupted oil flows through a critical shipping lane and taken a toll on the global economy.

Araqchi told reporters at the United Nations the proposed deal would trigger a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait and a pause in regional fighting.

"If there is seriousness on the US side to come to a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, everything is now prepared," Araqchi said. If the US were to agree, the warring parties could start wider talks "on mutually agreed subjects."

'Iran is not seeking war'

That could potentially include discussions of Iran's nuclear program. Trump has said Tehran must never acquire a nuclear bomb, while a senior Iranian official told reporters that Iran would show no ​flexibility over its nuclear program even if the US accepted its peace deal.

Iran would grant no concessions over its rights, including ​enriching uranium or shipping its ​highly enriched uranium out ⁠of the country, the official said.

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, in an interview with the CBS show "Face the Nation," said Tehran was ready for talks on its nuclear program and other issues, but would not accept "bullying or coercion."

"Iran is not seeking war, but will defend itself against pressure, threats and attacks,” Pezeshkian said, adding that it had already agreed that "we're not supposed to develop nuclear weapons".

Previous attempts at diplomacy have failed to end the war, which began on February 28.