Trump Rejects Iran Ceasefire Offer as U.S. Escorts Oil Tankers Through Hormuz in Daylight
President Trump dismissed Tehran's seven-day ceasefire proposal as U.S. forces help double oil traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, with daytime transits now underway and Washington betting that economic pressure will force Iran to capitulate.
President Donald Trump has rejected Iran's latest diplomatic overture, telling reporters outside the White House that Tehran's proposal for a seven-day ceasefire is «not acceptable» even as the U.S. military dramatically expands its role in escorting oil tankers through the Strait of Hormuz. The rejection signals that Washington sees little incentive to negotiate while its naval blockade continues to batter Iran's economy and oil markets hold steadier than many analysts predicted.
Iran had reportedly offered to fully reopen the strait and resume nuclear talks in exchange for the United States lifting its naval blockade, unfreezing Iranian assets, and ending sanctions on Iranian oil exports. Trump acknowledged Iran's desire for a deal but dismissed the terms outright. «They want to make a deal and I think that's fine,» he said Saturday. «I'd like to make a deal, too. But that deal would not be acceptable.» He added that Iran is «losing so badly» — a characterization that reflects a growing belief among U.S. officials that time now favors Washington rather than Tehran.
That confidence is rooted in two converging realities. The naval blockade is squeezing Iran's economy, and new financial sanctions are tightening the pressure further. Meanwhile, oil markets have proven more resilient than expected. While crude prices remain elevated and refined fuels face a sharper shock, markets have avoided catastrophic extremes even as the conflict and the strait's partial closure approach their eighth month.
The resilience stems largely from the fact that the Strait of Hormuz is only partially closed, with more oil flowing out in recent weeks under U.S. military protection. Tanker Trackers estimated Wednesday that the total volume of crude oil exiting the U.S. blockade line has reached 13 million barrels per day. «The numbers have doubled in less than a month,» the monitoring group said in a post on X. Oil expert Rory Johnston put the figure at roughly 13.5 million barrels per day based on the latest seven-day average — still well below prewar levels, but comparable to a brief July peak when a short-lived U.S.-Iran ceasefire allowed traffic to rebound before attacks on shipping resumed.
Part of the surge reflects Saudi Arabia shifting its oil shipments back through the Persian Gulf after previously diverting them via the East-West Pipeline for export from Red Sea ports. Attacks by Iran-backed Houthi and Iraqi fighters on Saudi oil infrastructure prompted Riyadh to hold off on using that bypass. Tanker Trackers also credited daytime transits through the strait with U.S. Central Command's help — a significant shift from earlier in the conflict, when the military guided ships through the contested waterway only at night to reduce the risk of being targeted by Iranian missiles and drones. The nighttime restriction had limited how many vessels could transit each day.
The move to daylight operations followed a series of U.S. airstrikes that degraded Iran's ability to detect commercial vessels attempting to slip out, as well as Navy efforts to clear mines from the strait's main corridor. With the Iranian threat to shipping now waning, a U.S. official said earlier this month that the military and Gulf countries had begun conducting daytime tanker transits.
Still, moving oil through the strait remains expensive. Shipping companies must pay crews more to accept the added risk, and insurance coverage is costlier. Johnston noted that while a substantial volume of oil is getting out of Hormuz, the cost of moving those barrels is very high — roughly $30 to $40 per barrel, excluding the cost of the U.S. military. «That doesn't work if global prices fall,» he cautioned, or if Gulf exporters try to press their prices higher.
Trump has also privately told aides that he expects to resume bombing Iran after the midterm elections, when high gasoline prices will be less of a political consideration, according to the Wall Street Journal. The combination of military pressure, economic strangulation, and electoral timing suggests the administration is prepared to sustain its current approach rather than accept a ceasefire on Iran's terms.
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