The Wall Street Journal reports President Donald Trump rejected an Iranian proposal for a seven-day ceasefire, renewed nuclear talks and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, and expects U.S. bombing to resume after November’s midterms; the scale is unclear.
U.S. officials cited by the Journal said Iran wanted the U.S. to halt its Gulf of Oman blockade in exchange for the ceasefire, nuclear talks and reopening the strait. The paper also reported that Trump privately questions whether Iran would honor a deal, despite his public insistence that Tehran wants one.
The Journal described the midterms as a deciding factor in Trump’s deliberations. Officials said his views could shift as the war continues and may be affected by the election results. The scale of any renewed bombing is unclear; Trump is wary of major combat partly because the U.S. wants to reserve dwindling munitions for other contingencies. At the U.N. this week, he publicly asked whether Iran should be allowed to rebuild under a deal or whether he should “annihilate” the Islamic Republic.
