May 11, 2026 (Bloomberg) –The US and Iran remain far apart on a framework to end their war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, with President Donald Trump calling the Islamic Republic’s reply to his proposed peace plan unworkable.
Tehran demanded a lifting of the US naval blockade and sanctions relief, while maintaining a degree of control over traffic through Hormuz, according to a person familiar with the matter, who asked not to be identified discussing sensitive information.
Iran also insisted that any agreement must result in an immediate end to fighting, including in Lebanon, where Israel is waging a parallel war against militant group Hezbollah, the person said.
“Everything we proposed in the text was reasonable and generous,” Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, said at a press conference on Monday.
Trump rejected Iran’s response, but stopped short of declaring a resumption of fighting, which began when the US and Israel started a bombing campaign on Feb. 28. The conflict has killed thousands of people across the Middle East and upended oil and gas markets.
“I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives,’” Trump said in a social media post on Sunday. “I don’t like it — TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!”
The impasse means Hormuz remains largely blocked, with Iran and other Persian Gulf countries unable to export energy supplies through the waterway — a conduit for a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas before the war.
The reputation of the strait as a reliable artery for global energy trade may bepermanently damagedby its prolonged closure, International Energy Agency Executive Director Fatih Birol said.
Even if movement is restored, “the vase has been broken. You can’t glue it back together,” he said. “If it was once closed, it can be closed again.”
A ceasefire that took hold just over a month ago is intact but fragile, as Arab states and ships across the Gulf come under intermittent attacks from the Islamic Republic.
Failed attempts to reach a basic framework for further discussions between Washington and Tehran jeopardize the prospects for successful negotiations over future curbs on Iran’s nuclear program — a key aim of the US-Israeli military campaign.
Iran offered to transfer some of its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to a third country, while rejecting the idea of dismantling its nuclear facilities, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday. Iran’s semi-official news agency Tasnim disputed the report, and the person familiar with the discussions said Tehran’s counter-proposal didn’t mention the nuclear program.
Iran’s other demands include the release of its frozen assets and the lifting of US sanctions on its oil sales, the person said. Iran’s state-run IRIB News described Trump’s plan, conveyed last week, as tantamount to surrender and said the US must also pay war damages.
Read More:How the Strait of Hormuz Has Become a Weapon of War: Explainer
Trump had proposed that Iran permit shipping to pass through Hormuz while Washington ends its blockade of Iranian ports, with monthlong nuclear talks to follow.
Oil rose on Monday following Trump’s social media posts, with global benchmark Brent gaining as much as 4.7% before paring its advance to 2.8% to trade at $105 a barrel as of 12:20 p.m. in London.
Higher oil prices, which stoke inflation concerns, weighed on bonds, with the 10-year Treasury yield climbing three basis points to 4.39%.
The conflict with Iran will be on Trump’s agenda when he meets Chinese President Xi Jinping later this week. Revenue that China provides to Iran as well as potential weapons exports would be among the topics discussed at the summit, according to a US official who briefed reporters on a conference call over the weekend. They spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of the preparations.
The US has sanctioned multiple Chinese firms for purchasing Iranian oil or providing satellite imagery to the Islamic Republic, as the Trump administration comes under increasing pressure to address the unfolding energy crisis.
Iran wants any resolution to end the war between its proxy Hezbollah and Israel. Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told CBS on Sunday that the two should be handled separately.
Trump and his advisers have repeatedly suggested the war is all but over, even as they threatened to escalate attacks if Tehran doesn’t agree to a peace deal. He’s facing rising political pressure to bring down gasoline prices across the US ahead of the November midterm elections, when his fellow Republicans hope to hold on to control of Congress.
Read More:Oil Market in ‘Race Against Time’ on Hormuz, Morgan Stanley Says
Saudi Aramco, the world’s largest oil company,warnedover the weekend it would take several months for the market to return to normal even if Hormuz reopened immediately.
There were intermittent attacks on shipping and states around the Persian Gulf over the weekend. A drone strike briefly set a cargo vessel ablaze on Sunday in Qatari territorial waters, the country said. The vessel, which came from Abu Dhabi, continued to Mesaieed Port in Qatar after the fire was extinguished. The United Arab Emirates and Kuwait also reported aerial attacks.
Foreign ministers of Iran and Saudi Arabia held a phone call on Monday to discuss the talks between Tehran and Washington, according to Telegram post by Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi.
Some vessels managed to exit the Gulf through Hormuz, including Qatari ships carrying LNG and liquefied petroleum gas.
More than 40 nations will meet Monday to outline their military contributions to aEuropean-led missionto escort ships through Hormuz once a stable ceasefire is in place.
The countries are expected to offer demining, escorting and air-policing capabilities as part of a defensive naval mission led by the UK and France that’s designed to reassure commercial ships that it will be safe to pass through the waterway.
Read More:Ships’ Signals Go Haywire as Hormuz Strait Tensions Escalate
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