Trump Rejects Iran 7-Day Ceasefire Plan and Expects Bombing to Resume After Midterm Elections

President Donald Trump on Saturday rejected Iran's latest proposal to end the ongoing war, a plan Tehran said would reopen the Strait of Hormuz and restart nuclear talks within seven days, if the United States lifted its naval blockade, removed sanctions on Iranian oil sales, and reinstated terms of an earlier memorandum of understanding. Trump confirmed the decision publicly, saying: "They have made a proposal and I rejected it."

The rejection, conveyed to U.S. envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner during indirect talks in New York earlier in the week, signals a hardening of Washington's position. According to the Wall Street Journal, citing U.S. officials, Trump has told aides he views renewed bombing of Iran as likely after the November midterm elections, and is skeptical that Tehran would meet his demands even if talks continued.

The development comes just two days after the Senate rejected a measure that would have blocked Trump from ordering further strikes on Iran, a vote that came despite growing Republican unease about the conflict ahead of the midterms. Regional mediators including Qatar remain active in attempting to revive negotiations, and Iranian President Pezeshkian had expressed a desire to resolve the standoff before the midterms. With markets closed for the weekend, the immediate financial reaction was muted, though the news raises fresh concerns about energy flows through the Strait of Hormuz and their effect on oil prices.