Trump closes the door on Iran’s seven-point roadmap - NO DEAL

Hormuz standoff hardens after Trump rejects Iran’s reopening terms

President Trump rejected Iran’s bid to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, and hours later Iranian media reported explosions near Qeshm Island as Tehran pressed hardline conditions.

Explosions were heard in the Strait of Hormuz hours after President Donald Trump turned down a diplomatic offer from Tehran, Al Jazeera reported. Iranian media pointed to blasts near southern Iran’s Qeshm Island and suggested antiship missiles and drones had been fired at vessels moving through the waterway against Tehran’s wishes.

Iranian authorities did not confirm any attacks that day. The episode still left a vital oil route under fresh pressure, with no deal in sight and both sides digging in.

The standoff is not a paper dispute. Since the conflict involving the United States, Israel, and Iran began on February 28, shipping through the Gulf has been severely disrupted. Tehran wants the strait run on its terms. Washington is enforcing a naval blockade on Iranian ports and moving crude by other routes.

Iran floated a plan to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week if seven conditions were met. Those conditions included lifting the U.S. blockade on Iran, releasing frozen Iranian funds, and ending attacks on all fronts, including Israel’s assault on Lebanon. Tehran also wanted a return, for the most part, to a June memorandum of understanding between the United States and Israel.

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Iran has an estimated $100 billion to $120 billion in frozen assets scattered globally. These funds primarily consist of unreleased foreign currency reserves and accumulated oil revenues that became locked in foreign banks due to decades of international sanctions. Independent tracking dashboards evaluate the core immobilized or blocked portion of these assets to sit between $58 billion and $88 billion.

Because these assets are tied up across various jurisdictions, they are a central talking point in ongoing geopolitical negotiations. China: Holds the largest share, estimated between $20 billion and $50 billion from long-standing oil purchases. We hold roughly $2 billion in directly frozen bank deposits, plus an additional $50 million in real estate and property tied up since the 1979 revolution.