A deal that was meant to stop the guns before the talks began has instead run into a question older than this war: who is entitled to demand what from whom once bombs have fallen. Trump's swift rejection of Iran's reply, offered without explanation, leaves the Strait of Hormuz choked and the world's energy lanes uneasy, as they have been for ten weeks since fighting began in late February. Both capitals speak of defeat and endurance rather than compromise, and the one fixed point on the calendar is a meeting in Beijing where China may be asked to lean on Tehran.
Oil Jumps as Trump Calls Iran's Peace Reply 'Totally Unacceptable' With Hormuz Still Shut
They are defeated, but that doesn't mean they're done.
Mark
Why did one short post move the oil market?
Mimi
Because the market was reading it as a signal about the strait. Hormuz carried a fifth of the world's oil and LNG before the war, and it's still mostly shut. A rejection means that stays true longer. Oil rose more than 3.5 per cent on Monday.
Mark
What did Iran actually ask for?
Mimi
A lot. An end to the war on all fronts, especially Lebanon, compensation for damage, an end to the US blockade, sanctions relief, a lifting of the oil sales ban, guarantees against new attacks, and recognition of its sovereignty over Hormuz.
Luke
Worth noting those details come from Iranian state TV and Tasnim, not from a published text of the reply. We're reading Iran's own account.
Mark
And Trump's objection?
Mimi
He didn't say. Just "I don't like it" and "totally unacceptable."
Luke
Right, so we can't say which demand sank it. The US plan wanted a halt in fighting first and the nuclear talks later. Iran's reply looks broader, but that's an inference, not something Trump confirmed.
Mark
Is there any sign of movement?
Mimi
Not in the statements. Netanyahu says the war isn't over, Pezeshkian says Iran won't bow, and Trump says Iran is defeated but not done.
Luke
And the Beijing meeting is the only scheduled event. Whether Xi can or will press Tehran is unknown. Nothing in the reporting says what comes after.
Der Puls
- Trump dismissed Iran's reply within hours, calling it 'TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE' and offering no reasons, and the silence left markets to fill the gap.
- Oil jumped more than 3.5 percent as the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world's oil and gas once flowed, remains a near-empty waterway.
- Iran's demands stretch far beyond the US plan: compensation, an end to the naval blockade, sanctions relief, and sovereignty over Hormuz, with Lebanon as a contested front.
- American voters are feeling the pain at the pump months before midterm elections, while NATO allies refuse to send ships without a full peace deal.
- Netanyahu does not rule out seizing Iran's enriched uranium by force, and Tehran vows it will never bow, so the path forward remains unclear.
- Trump's Wednesday meeting with Xi in Beijing is the only scheduled step, and Washington is hoping China can push Tehran toward a deal.
A deal that was meant to stop the guns before the talks began has instead run into a question older than this war: who is entitled to demand what from whom once bombs have fallen. Trump's swift rejection of Iran's reply, offered without explanation, leaves the Strait of Hormuz choked and the world's energy lanes uneasy, as they have been for ten weeks since fighting began in late February. Both capitals speak of defeat and endurance rather than compromise, and the one fixed point on the calendar is a meeting in Beijing where China may be asked to lean on Tehran.
Iran answered the American peace proposal on Sunday, and by evening President Trump had dismissed the reply as totally unacceptable, without saying what he objected to. By Monday oil had climbed more than three and a half percent, because the deadlock would continue and the Strait of Hormuz would remain largely shut.
The US plan had been designed to end the fighting first and only then open harder talks, including on Iran's nuclear programme. Iran wanted something different: an end to the war on every front, especially Lebanon, where Israel is fighting the Iran-backed Hezbollah. Tehran also demanded war compensation, the lifting of the US naval blockade, sanctions relief, and recognition of its sovereignty over the strait. Its foreign ministry spokesman called these terms legitimate and generous, and described the blockade as piracy.
The strait carried a fifth of the world's oil and gas before the war began on February 28. Now only a trickle moves through it, and ships try to pass with their trackers switched off. The pressure on Washington is political as well as military. American voters are paying higher petrol prices ahead of elections that will shape Congress, and allies have refused to send ships without a full peace settlement.
Both leaders sound unyielding. Trump says Iran is defeated but not finished, Netanyahu says there is more work to do on the uranium, and Iran's president says his country will never bow. For now the only certain event is Trump's meeting with Xi Jinping in Beijing on Wednesday, where Iran will be discussed and China may be asked to press Tehran.
Within hours of Iran publishing its answer to a US peace proposal on Sunday, President Donald Trump had written it off. His post on Truth Social read: "I don't like it - TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE." He gave no detail about what he objected to. By Monday, oil prices had jumped more than 3.5 per cent on the news that the deadlock would continue and the Strait of Hormuz would stay largely closed.
The US offer had been floated days earlier, in the hope of reopening negotiations. Its design was to end the fighting first and only then begin talks on harder questions, Iran's nuclear program among them. Iran's reply went in a different direction. According to Iranian state TV, it centred on ending the war on all fronts, especially Lebanon, where Israel, a US ally, is fighting the Iran-backed Hezbollah militia. It also demanded compensation for war damage and stressed Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
The semi-official Tasnim news agency reported further demands: that the US end its naval blockade, guarantee no further attacks, lift sanctions and drop its ban on Iranian oil sales. On Monday, foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei defended the package. He called the demand to end the war, lift the blockade, which he described as piracy, and release Iranian assets frozen in banks under US pressure "legitimate." He added that safe passage through Hormuz and security in the region and Lebanon were also part of what Tehran considers a "generous and responsible" offer.
The strait matters because of what moved through it before the war began on February 28: one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas. Traffic is now a trickle. Shipping data from Kpler and LSEG showed three crude-laden tankers left the waterway last week, with their trackers switched off to avoid Iranian attack. In recent days, sporadic flare-ups around the strait have tested the ceasefire that paused all-out fighting when it took effect in early April.
The pressure on Washington is not only military. The war is unpopular with US voters, who are paying sharply higher petrol prices less than six months before national elections that will decide whether Trump's Republican Party keeps control of Congress. Abroad, support is thin: NATO allies have refused calls to send ships to open the strait without a full peace deal and an internationally mandated mission.
The leaders' public statements point to little give. Asked in remarks aired Sunday whether combat operations were finished, Trump said of Iran: "They are defeated, but that doesn't mean they're done." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CBS News' 60 Minutes that the war was not over because there was "more work to be done": removing enriched uranium from Iran, dismantling enrichment sites, and addressing Iran's proxies and ballistic missile capabilities. Diplomacy would be the best route to the uranium, he said, but he did not rule out taking it by force. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian posted that Iran would "never bow down to the enemy" and would defend national interests with strength.
It is not clear what diplomatic or military steps come next. One date is fixed: Trump is expected in Beijing on Wednesday, where Iran is among the topics he and Chinese President Xi Jinping are set to discuss. Trump has been pressing China to use its influence to push Tehran toward a deal.
Bemerkenswerte Zitate
I don't like it - TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE.— President Donald Trump, on Truth Social
Our demand is legitimate: demanding an end to the war, lifting the blockade, and releasing Iranian assets unjustly frozen.— Esmaeil Baghaei, Iranian foreign ministry spokesman (paraphrased)
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