US rejects Iran's peace proposal, citing bad-faith negotiating tactics

The Trump administration turned away Iran's latest attempt to negotiate an end to their conflict over the Strait of Hormuz, arguing that Tehran was negotiating in bad faith. Mike Waltz, the president's ambassador to the United Nations, laid out the American position on CNN's State of the Union program on Sunday: Iran had demanded relief from the mounting sanctions regime—what he called "billions and billions"—without offering concrete commitments in return. "They were asking for everything up front with a promise that they would then talk," Waltz said. The economic blockade, imposed by the US and joined by 146 other nations, was designed to pressure Iran into halting its attacks on commercial shipping moving through one of the world's most critical waterways.

Trump himself had rejected the Iranian proposal the day before, framing the moment as evidence of Iranian weakness rather than a genuine opening for diplomacy. "They want to make a deal to open the Hormuz strait immediately because they're losing so badly," the president said, adding that the US held "total control of the Hormuz strait" and was "winning tremendously." In a separate conversation with Axios, Trump suggested Iran had overplayed its hand. "It is what we would have maybe agreed to a year ago," he said of their current terms. Yet he also indicated the talks would continue. "They want to make a deal, but it is not the deal that I want to make."

Waltz pointed to a previous failed agreement as evidence of Iranian unreliability. In June, the two countries had signed a memorandum of understanding in Pakistan that outlined a 14-point framework for negotiated peace. Iran, Waltz said, "immediately violated it by attacking international shipping, in violation of international law." The attacks on vessels in the strait had prompted the international condemnation and the sanctions that now formed the backdrop to these negotiations.

Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, responded by insisting that only diplomatic channels could resolve the standoff. "Our conditions are clear, and any move toward reopening the strait of Hormuz is contingent on these conditions being met," he posted on social media. Appearing on NBC's Meet the Press, Araghchi struck a dual note: Iran was prepared to resume fighting if necessary, but had not closed the door to talks. "We are fully prepared for the war to be resumed," he said. "We stand firm in the face of any new aggression, even if it comes to a doomsday war. At the same time, we stand ready for diplomacy. It is up to President Trump to choose."

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, speaking on CBS's Face the Nation, echoed that message while drawing a line around what Iran would accept. His country was ready to discuss its nuclear program and other issues, he said, but would not submit to "bullying or coercion." He reiterated that Iran had already committed to not developing nuclear weapons. "Iran is not seeking war, but will defend itself against pressure, threats and attacks," Pezeshkian said.

Waltz also addressed intelligence reports suggesting that China had helped Iran with missile targeting of shipping and US military installations in the region. While he did not confirm the leaked assessments, he said Trump had raised the matter with Chinese Premier Xi Jinping during Xi's recent visit to Washington and "multiple times" before, including during Trump's May trip to Beijing. "I think we have seen movement in a positive direction," Waltz said. He cited a readout from the summit stating that the US and China had "agreed that Iran can never have a nuclear weapon" and that Iran should not be "tolling, much less attacking, international shipping in an international waterway."

Waltz also pushed back against reporting in the Wall Street Journal suggesting the US would resume bombing Iran after the November midterm elections. He framed the administration's stance as a long-term security calculation. "The president is looking to make not just this generation – but the next generation – safer by not allowing what is essentially a terrorist organization in [Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] that is controlling the levers of government and wants to march towards a nuclear weapon," Waltz said. The administration, he made clear, would not permit Iran to acquire nuclear weapons or use them to "hold the world hostage."