President Donald Trump rejected Iran’s proposed timetable for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, deepening a dispute in which both governments say they want shipping restored but attach incompatible conditions to doing so.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Tehran’s plan could begin once Washington accepted it, with the strait reopening after seven days. The proposal required the United States to fulfill commitments under the Islamabad memorandum signed in June, according to one account. “The moment they accept this plan, from the following day this timetable can begin and, after seven days, the strait will be open,” Araghchi said.¹

The U.S. position, by contrast, was presented as a demand for faster access and broader negotiations. Trump said, “We want to make a deal to open the strait immediately because they are losing ground in a tremendous way.”² Washington also seeks to include Iran’s nuclear programme in talks, while asserting it has full control of the waterway.

Tehran’s conditions go beyond the passage of vessels. Iranian officials have linked peace negotiations over the nuclear programme to lifting the naval blockade of Iranian ports, revoking sanctions and assurances that attacks will end. The earlier agreement was described as providing for a ceasefire, the release and payment of frozen Iranian assets, suspension of oil sanctions and an end to the U.S. naval blockade.

The two accounts therefore agree on the strategic importance of reopening Hormuz, a route that previously carried about 20% of global hydrocarbons. They differ over sequencing: Washington wants immediate navigation and a nuclear discussion, while Tehran seeks prior implementation of political, military and economic commitments. Regional voices have also stressed the wider stakes, with Saudi Arabia calling freedom of navigation essential to energy security and Russia offering to help stabilize the situation.²