Trump Meets Team on Iran Strait Proposal

U.S. President Donald Trump met with his national security team on Monday to discuss Iran's latest proposal for reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway carrying about one-fifth of the world's oil supplies, amid an eight-week war that began on February 28.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt confirmed the morning meeting, stating that Trump's red lines for any deal remain firm, including preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon. "His red lines with respect to Iran have been made very, very clear," Leavitt told reporters. She added that Trump would address the matter soon. Secretary of State Marco Rubio described Iranian negotiators as serious about escaping their current difficulties but noted internal divisions within the regime limit progress. "They're deeply fractured internally," Rubio said in a Fox News interview, explaining that theological hardliners hold ultimate power over more pragmatic political figures.

The Iranian proposal, conveyed through mediators including Pakistan, calls for reopening the strait in exchange for the U.S. lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ports and ending the conflict. It proposes a phased approach: first a ceasefire...