US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had rejected an Iranian proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end ‌fighting in the Middle East, Reuters reported.

Iran raised the initiative at the UN General Assembly in New York, saying it had been transmitted to the Americans via Qatari mediators and that it could reopen the strategic waterway and put an end to hostilities in the region within seven days.

But in comments to reporters at the White House, Trump said: “I reject their proposal. … I rejected ​their deal.

“They want to make a deal to open the Hormuz Strait immediately because they’re losing so badly,” he said before leaving for Tennessee. “We’re ​winning tremendously.

“They want to make a deal and I think that’s fine, I like making a deal too. What they ⁠want to do is immediately open the Hormuz Strait … because they have no money coming in, because they get their money from the Hormuz Strait,” Trump said.

​The US has imposed an economic blockade on Iran to put pressure on Tehran to lift its blockade of Hormuz, which has drastically reduced shipping through the strait, ​even though Trump again asserted that the US had control of the waterway.

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

It said Trump was privately sceptical 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 to Congress.

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

The Iranians also engaged their Saudi rivals ​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.

Iranian ‌Foreign Minister ⁠Abbas Araqchi told reporters at the United Nations on Friday the proposed deal would trigger a seven-day countdown to reopening the strait and a pause in regional fighting, read the report.

“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.”

That could potentially include discussions of Iran’s nuclear programme. Trump has said Tehran must never acquire ​a nuclear bomb, while a senior Iranian ​official told Reuters that Iran would show ⁠no flexibility over its nuclear programme 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 programme 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 with US and Israeli attacks, Reuters reported.

Since then the war has alternated between pauses and renewed ⁠strikes, killing ​thousands while degrading Iran’s conventional forces and damaging Iran’s already ailing economy.

Iran and its allies have ​retaliated by extending the conflict throughout the region. Iran has struck US allies in the Gulf with drones and missiles while its Houthi allies in Yemen have targeted Saudi interests.

Iran on Saturday awaited an official US response to its proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end fighting in the wider Middle East war after the Wall Street Journal ​reported that US President Donald Trump had rejected the deal.

Iran raised the diplomatic initiative at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, saying it had been ‌transmitted to the Americans via Qatari mediators and could reopen the strategic waterway and put an end to hostilities in the region within seven days, Reuters reported.

The Iranians also engaged their Saudi rivals regarding the strait, underscoring the stakes of a seven-month-old conflict that has disrupted oil flows through one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes and taken a toll on the global economy.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told reporters at the United Nations on Friday the 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,” ⁠Araqchi said.

That could potentially include discussions of Iran’s nuclear program. Trump has vowed that Tehran will never acquire a nuclear bomb, while a senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran will show no ​flexibility over its nuclear program even if the United States accepts 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.

Even so, Iran had put forward a plan that would halt hostilities on all fronts, including Lebanon. The plan in turn would require the United States to lift its blockade on Iranian ports, release Iran’s frozen funds, and waive its oil sanctions, Araqchi said.

A US official, speaking on condition of anonymity, had previously called discussions through mediators “positive and constructive.”

But Trump was privately skeptical that Iran would meet his demands, the Journal report said, ​and he told his staff that he sees a renewed bombing campaign as likely.

Reuters could not immediately confirm the Journal report.

SAUDI ALLIES UNITE

Previous attempts at diplomacy have failed to end the war, ​which began on February 28 with US and Israeli attacks.

Since then the war has alternated between pauses and renewed strikes, killing thousands while degrading Iran’s conventional forces and damaging Iran’s already ailing economy.

Iran and its allies ‌have retaliated by ⁠extending the conflict throughout the region. Iran, which controls the strait along with Oman, has struck US allies in the Gulf with drones and missiles while its Houthi allies in Yemen have targeted Saudi interests. Iranian-aligned militias in Iraq were blamed for a pipeline attack that temporarily took more Saudi oil off the market. All the while, Iranian-backed Hezbollah has been engaged with Israeli forces in Lebanon.

Araqchi briefed his Saudi counterpart Prince Faisal bin Farhan on the understanding between Iran and Oman regarding safe shipping routes in the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s foreign ministry said early Saturday.

The war’s widening toll ​has also united Saudi Arabia’s allies to shore up ​the kingdom’s defenses.

The Saudi-backed, internationally recognized Yemeni ⁠government has come under assault from Iran-linked Houthi fighters, with Houthi missiles striking inside the kingdom.

Yemen’s Saudi-led coalition said early Saturday it intercepted two drones launched by the Houthis towards the Saudi capital Riyadh in addition to intercepting a ballistic missile launched by the Houthis toward Khamis Mushait.

The Houthis, ​who control the most populous parts of Yemen and much of the north, have launched attacks against Saudi Arabia since declaring a naval blockade ​against Riyadh in July, ⁠with strikes targeting Saudi vessels in the Red Sea.

The attacks have targeted Saudi cities, energy infrastructure and shipping, adding to pressures on global oil supplies caused by the US-Israeli war on Iran and putting at risk the main alternative Red Sea route for Gulf exports while traffic through the Strait of Hormuz remains largely blocked.

Defense officials of Turkey and Pakistan, both partners in a joint defense pact with Saudi Arabia, met ⁠in Riyadh ​on Friday to review the security situation and discuss intelligence cooperation, military coordination, and integrating forces, the Saudi defense ministry ​said in a statement.

The statement came a day after Saudi, Pakistani and Turkish foreign ministers met within the framework of the Mecca Joint Defense Agreement.

The violence in Yemen has prompted a new humanitarian crisis, the United Nations children’s agency said on ​Friday, reporting a rise in acute malnutrition among children.

The White House said on Thursday it has reinstated journalists from CNN, MS NOW and Politico after a federal judge deemed US President Donald Trump’s ban of the three news outlets ​likely unconstitutional and ordered their access immediately restored.

The midday reinstatement came after a chaotic few hours earlier on Thursday when the journalists continued to be blocked from entering the White House grounds. That prompted ‌the three news organizations to request an immediate hearing before US District Judge Tim Kelly, who issued his decision overnight, Reuters reported.

Kelly, acting in a lawsuit brought by CNN, MS NOW and Politico on Monday, ordered a halt to Trump’s ban for 14 days in a press freedom case that has played out over the past week in the courtroom and White House grounds.

Kelly found that the revocation of the White House credentials of the journalists “likely violated their constitutional due process rights.”

The judge, who Trump appointed in 2017 during his first presidential term, also raised doubts about the US Justice ​Department’s national security arguments for justifying the ban, noting that Trump himself had said the action was due to what the president alleged was false or negative coverage.

Hours after Kelly issued his order, CNN, MS NOW and ​Politico told the judge they remained barred, and asked for the emergency hearing. Politico said its reporter’s credentials were confiscated. An MS NOW reporter said she was blocked from the White House. CNN ⁠said some of its staff members were denied entry onto the grounds.

In response, Micah Stopperich, the director of press operations at the White House, said in a court filing that the White House began the process of reinstating press badges for ​affected reporters at 7:25 a.m., and that the “White House press team dropped badges at the entry gate for members of the press to pick up around 9:55 a.m.”

After receiving Stopperich’s declaration, the judge denied the request by the news organizations for an ​emergency hearing but gave them an opportunity to inform him of any factual developments later in the day.

The sharpest conflict yet between Trump and the press played out during a key diplomatic moment for the US president: his appearance at the United Nations General Assembly in New York and his hosting of Chinese President Xi Jinping on Thursday.

A source familiar with the White House television press pool said its members would not reinstate their coverage until the White House formally reinstates CNN to the pool. Earlier this week, they had suspended pooled coverage in solidarity with ​CNN.

There were no TV pool cameras set up for Xi’s arrival on the White House’s South Lawn on Thursday morning, and FOX News, MS NOW and CNN did not air the two leaders’ arrival ceremony live.

During Trump’s welcome of Xi to ​the White House, the president made a joke to photographers in the Oval Office about the Chinese having the friendliest press corps.

CNN is one of the five news organizations – along with ABC, CBS, FOX News and NBC – that make up the primary White House television pool. ‌They share the ⁠costs of covering the president, take turns organizing coverage and provide footage to other outlets.

CNN had been scheduled to cover Trump’s trip to New York for the General Assembly on Monday, but was not able to provide a pool feed.

NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS

Trump announced the ban on Friday on his social media platform, saying those news organizations “shouldn’t be able to constantly write or report FICTION and LIES when they’re covering the President of the United States.” Trump framed their reporting as a threat to US national security.

The three outlets sued Trump and other members of his administration, saying the ban violated the US Constitution’s First Amendment protections for free speech and a free press, as well as their due process rights. A coalition of press freedom groups and ​dozens of news organizations, including Reuters, later filed a legal brief ​supporting the three news outlets.

Kelly ordered the Trump administration ⁠to immediately return the outlets’ press passes and stop enforcing the ban for two weeks. The judge rejected the administration’s stated national security concerns.

“The record lacks factual support for defendants’ contention that the revocation of plaintiffs’ hard passes will in fact protect national security or that national security will be endangered if the court orders their passes reinstated while this litigation proceeds,” Kelly ​wrote.

In a filing on Tuesday, the Justice Department accused the outlets of threatening national security with their coverage, citing stories about US missile stockpiles, construction of Trump’s White House ​ballroom and turnout at the recent ⁠Republican midterm convention.

Theodore Boutrous, an attorney for the three outlets, welcomed the judge’s decision in a statement, saying: “This is a strong ruling vindicating freedom of the press, due process and the rule of law. We greatly appreciate the court’s swift action.”

TENSIONS WITH THE PRESS

Although other presidential administrations have battled with the press, Trump’s campaign against the media has been unprecedented. Upending decades of tradition, his White House had denied basic access to many major news organizations, launched personal attacks on journalists and filed multiple lawsuits against news organizations.

Kelly’s ruling ⁠came a day ​after Trump experienced another legal setback.

On Wednesday, an Iowa judge dismissed Trump’s 2024 lawsuit against the Des Moines Register newspaper and pollster J. Ann Selzer. Trump ​sued the Register, its parent company Gannett and Selzer over a poll published ahead of the November 2024 US election that showed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris leading him in Iowa. Trump accused the newspaper and its longtime pollster of fraudulently misleading readers.

In his ruling Wednesday, Iowa District Judge Scott Beattie said ​the poll was legally protected speech.