Iran has rejected a new U.S. ceasefire proposal delivered to Tehran by Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi after his White House meeting with President Donald Trump, according to Iranian and Iraqi officials cited by The New York Times. The White House has not publicly confirmed the proposal or disclosed its terms.
Iranian officials reportedly described the offer as a temporary arrangement that failed to resolve the future status of the Strait of Hormuz, the central dispute in repeated attempts to halt the fighting. They said Tehran was not interested in accepting another short pause without a broader settlement.
Al-Zaidi met President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi during his visit to Tehran. His office said he called for dialogue and pledged that Iraqi territory would not be used to facilitate attacks on Iran. Araghchi said the obstacle was not a lack of diplomatic channels but Washington’s approach.
Two Iranian officials also told the Times that Iran could widen the war if Trump ordered attacks on Tehran or critical infrastructure, including by striking Tel Aviv and pressing the Houthis to close the Bab al-Mandeb Strait.
That threat is consistent with separate Reuters reporting that Iran asked the Houthis to prepare to disrupt Bab al-Mandeb if the United States attacked Iran’s power network. The Houthis have since declared a blockade against Saudi-linked shipping and claimed attacks on two Saudi oil tankers in the Red Sea.
The rejection follows a separate 10-day ceasefire proposal reported by Reuters earlier this week. Neither effort appears to have resolved the underlying dispute over Hormuz, leaving temporary pauses vulnerable to another round of escalation.
