Trump Rejects Iran's Ceasefire, UK Foiled Plot Near US Base, Trump Press Corps Fight

Steve Inskeep (0:02)

President Trump says he doesn't like Iran's latest proposal for a ceasefire.

Leila Fadel (0:06)

The idea was similar to the last ceasefire. Its offer would reopen the Strait of Hormuz if the US lifts sanctions and its blockade. Is there any path forward?

Steve Inskeep (0:14)

I'm Steve Inskeep with Leila Fadel, and this is Up First from NPR News.

Police in the UK say they foil the planned attack near an air base that US forces use to strike Iran. Authorities are holding five British nationals after white vans were spotted near the base. Iran is denying involvement today, but many questions remain.

Leila Fadel (0:36)

And the president's fight with the press has left some of his biggest events without major TV coverage. CNN was kept off Air Force One this weekend. His Trump's fight with the media costing him politically. Stay with us. We'll give you the news you need to start your day.

President Trump says he rejected an Iranian offer to suspend hostilities for seven days and immediately reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Steve Inskeep (1:04)

The president said the Iranian offer, quote, would not be acceptable and that Iran is, in his words, losing so badly.

Leila Fadel (1:11)

Joining us to discuss this and more is NPR international correspondent in the Gulf, Aya Batraoui. Good morning, Aya.

Aya Batraoui (1:17)

Good morning, Leila.

Leila Fadel (1:18)

Okay. So today marks seven months since the US and Israel launched war on Iran and killed its supreme leader. Where do things stand right now?

Aya Batraoui (1:25)

So Iran's latest offer, which you mentioned, is basically that the two sides agree to something similar to the memorandum of understanding that they had agreed to back in June, and that deal barely lasted a few weeks. So what Iran wants is the US to lift its naval blockade on its oil exports and to unfreeze billions of its dollars in foreign banks in exchange for reopening the Strait of Hormuz. But Trump already says he rejects those terms. Now Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Arakchi, he was on NBC's Meet the Press on Sunday. And I'd like you to listen to how he describes his country's position seven months into this war.

Abbas Arakchi (1:58)

We are fully prepared for the war to be resumed. And I repeat, we stand firm in the face of any new aggression, even it comes to a doomsday war.

But at the same time, we are ready, we stand ready for diplomacy. It is up to President Trump to choose.

Aya Batraoui (2:15)

So as you heard there, he talked about being ready for a doomsday war or for diplomacy. Now Trump says Iran is desperate to make a deal because US sanctions are strangling its economy. And he says that massive amounts of oil are already flowing through the Strait of Hormuz now.

Leila Fadel (2:28)

Is that true, are massive amounts of oil coming through the Strait?

Aya Batraoui (2:32)

So Leila, flows coming out of the Strait are really not consistent. They do swing from one week to another. But the most recent data by Kepler shows a seven day average last week of around 13 million barrels a day of oil coming out of the Strait. Now that's compared to around 15 to 17 million barrels a day of crude exports before the war.

But there's two things to keep in mind. One is that Iran can and still does attack ships transiting through that narrow waterway. So these ships are running dark with their transponders off to hide their location. And that leads to the second point, which is that it's very expensive for ships to export oil through the Strait of Hormuz because of those risks without a deal in place. Brent crude is trading at around $107 a barrel today. That's more than 50 percent higher than before the war. And we heard last week, Qatar's energy minister saying that the Strait of Hormuz is indispensable, that pipelines are not a solution and they're vulnerable to attacks. Saudi Arabia's key pipeline to bypass the Strait of Hormuz was attacked this month. And it needs the Strait of Hormuz open because its secondary route to export oil through the Red Sea remains blocked by Yemen's Houthis.

Leila Fadel (3:35)

That's right. Tell us about that war between the Houthis and the Saudis. Is Saudi Arabia getting support from allies?

Aya Batraoui (3:41)

So, Leila, the UK has stepped in with a refueling aircraft to support the Saudi Air Force in its bombing of the Houthis, who are supported by Iran. The UK says these wars in the Gulf are having an impact on prices at home. And as France looks to another winter and its needs for gas and oil, it is sending soldiers, radar and defense systems to help the Saudis defend against Houthi attacks. Now, the Houthis say their attacks will continue until Saudi Arabia ends its attacks. And this past weekend, Saudi Arabia says the Houthis again fired at its capital, Riyadh.