US President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal for a 7-day ceasefire and told his aides he expects US strikes on Iran to resume after the November midterm elections, according to The Wall Street Journal, citing US officials.
The newspaper said the Iranian proposal stipulated reopening the Strait of Hormuz and resuming negotiations over Tehran's nuclear program in exchange for the United States lifting its blockade on Iranian ports, which is causing significant damage to the Iranian economy.
According to officials, Trump publicly expresses his belief that Tehran is seeking an agreement after the midterm elections that would dismantle its nuclear program, but he doubts in his private conversations with aides Iran's readiness to meet American demands.
The officials said Trump told his team he sees a return of the bombing campaign against Iran as likely, indicating that the current phase of the conflict, situated between war and peace, may shift back toward military confrontation.
However, the officials noted that the US president's position could change in the coming weeks as the war continues, and that the midterm election results could also affect his calculations.
The officials were unable to determine the scale of the strikes Trump is considering launching if he decides to resume military operations.
According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump is reluctant to return to large-scale combat operations, for reasons including the United States' desire to preserve its ammunition stockpile, which is declining, to address other potential crises.
At the same time, Trump has previously announced wide-scale attacks as part of pressure to overcome impasses in US-Iranian negotiations, but he has backed away from his harshest threats, according to the newspaper.
This comes as the US administration pursues parallel tracks in dealing with Tehran, ranging from negotiation and military strikes to tightening sanctions and economic pressure.
In a speech before the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week, Trump denied that domestic election calculations were a factor in his decisions related to Iran.
He noted that the Republican Party is contesting the elections and that he will help its candidates, but stressed that he personally is not a candidate and that he will not allow the elections to influence his position on the Iranian file.
Trump affirmed that the goal governing his policy is to ensure Iran does not possess a nuclear weapon.
These remarks came despite his call on Republicans to treat the midterm elections as if his name were on the ballot.
Despite rejecting the Iranian proposal, a US official said Washington and Tehran are still negotiating through intermediaries, including on the nuclear file.
He added that US-led efforts to ensure oil tankers continue to pass through the Strait of Hormuz despite Iranian threats have reduced the urgency of reaching an agreement with Tehran.
Qatar, alongside other regional mediators, is working to reactivate contacts between the United States and Iran, taking advantage of the presence of officials from both sides in the region and New York, coinciding with the UN General Assembly meetings.
According to people familiar with the talks, Iran presented during a meeting held in Qatar on Sunday the idea of a 7-day cessation of fighting, with the truce paving the way for an end to Iranian attacks on navigation, in exchange for easing US measures against Tehran.
According to the report, the Iranian proposal includes 4 main elements that Tehran demands from Washington: lifting the US naval blockade, releasing some frozen Iranian assets, lifting sanctions on Iranian oil exports, and a 7-day cessation of fighting.
In return, Iran reopens the Strait of Hormuz and begins negotiations with the United States on its nuclear program.
But officials familiar with the file said Washington informed Iran and the mediators that Trump does not intend to lift the naval blockade.
The US administration believes, according to the newspaper, that continuing to exert economic pressure on Tehran will ultimately push it to sign an agreement on terms favorable to Washington and the Arab Gulf states.
The Wall Street Journal quoted Arab mediators as saying Iranian diplomats had presented several proposals in an attempt to end the war, while acknowledging the worsening economic crisis inside Iran.
However, the newspaper noted there is disagreement within the Iranian side over how to handle the war and negotiations.
According to the report, Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps adopts a more hardline position, rejecting discussion of new formulas for reaching an agreement and affirming its readiness for a long war.
The newspaper said the Revolutionary Guard, which it described as an influential military and economic force effectively holding the reins of power in Iran since the war erupted in February, prefers a return to terms closer to the initial agreement reached between Trump and Tehran in June.
Under that understanding, Iran was supposed to receive sanctions relief on oil sales and access to its frozen assets, along with recognition of Tehran's role in managing the Strait of Hormuz, in exchange for reopening the waterway to navigation.
The conditions currently put forward by Washington appear, according to the report, to be tougher for Iran, especially with the US administration insisting on the naval blockade and its strategy of increasing economic pressure.
In return, Tehran seeks to use the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and a return to nuclear negotiations within a broader understanding that includes easing US economic restrictions.
Between Trump's rejection of the Iranian proposal and the continuation of negotiations through mediators, contacts remain open for a diplomatic settlement, but the US president's talk in his private circles about the possibility of resuming bombing after the November elections indicates, according to The Wall Street Journal, that Washington does not rule out returning to the military option if pressure and negotiations fail to secure an agreement on its terms.
