The deadlock. Efforts to end the war in the Middle East seem to be at a standstill. On Tuesday, the United States seemed skeptical of a new proposal from Tehran to unblock the Strait of Hormuz, which remains virtually paralyzed. The reopening of the strait, a strategic maritime passage for oil and gas trade, is crucial for a lasting resolution of the conflict triggered by Israeli-American strikes against Iran on February 28.
While a ceasefire has been in place for three weeks, the strait remains locked by Tehran, with Washington still imposing a blockade on Iranian ports and negotiations at a standstill. “We do not consider the war to be over,” said the spokesperson for the Iranian army, Amir Akraminia, on state television.
A new Iranian proposal to break the deadlock was discussed in Washington by Donald Trump and his top security advisers. American officials did not deny reports from CNN and the Wall Street Journal that the U.S. president hinted during Monday’s meeting that he was unlikely to accept the offer.
As for the Iranian government, they are calling on Washington to abandon its “illegal and irrational demands,” stating that the United States is “no longer in a position to dictate their policy to independent nations.” According to an article from the American site Axios, relayed by the official Iranian news agency Irna, the Iranian proposal aims to reopen the strait and end the war, only negotiating on the nuclear issue at a later date.
The Iranian parliament is preparing a law to place the strait under the authority of the armed forces, ban Israeli ships from passing through, and charge passage fees in Iranian rials. In response, the U.S. Secretary of State, Marco Rubio, said on Fox News, “We cannot tolerate the Iranians trying to establish a system in which they decide who can use an international waterway and how much they should be paid to use it.”
According to the American analysis center Soufan, “Iranian leaders believe that rising oil prices and imminent worldwide shortages of derivative products are putting President Trump under significant pressure to accept a conflict resolution far from his demand for an unconditional surrender.”
Trump lashes out at the German chancellor, Friedrich Merz, accusing him on his Truth Social network on Tuesday of “not knowing what he’s talking about” on Iran. The German leader had said on Monday that “the Americans clearly had no strategy on Iran” and judged that Tehran was “humiliating” the world’s leading power.
The U.S. military announced on Tuesday that it had intercepted and then released a merchant ship in the Arabian Sea, suspected of attempting to violate the American blockade. Since the blockade was imposed on April 13, 39 ships have been redirected to ensure compliance. The paralysis of the strait with no end in sight has had a significant impact on the global economy, with the Brent barrel finishing at $111.26 on Tuesday.
In the face of diplomatic deadlock, Qatar has warned of a “frozen conflict” in the Gulf. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), meanwhile, criticized Iran’s “flagrant attacks” against its members, calling on Tehran to take “serious initiatives to restore trust” following a meeting of regional leaders in Saudi Arabia.
