DOMINANT ANGLE
Ankara sees the American rejection as a sign that Qatari mediation, hailed as "positive and constructive", was not enough to convince Donald Trump to test Tehran's sincerity.
Dominant angle identified — does not reflect unanimity of this country’s media
KEY POINTS
- 01
The Iranian plan provides for seven days of cessation of hostilities throughout the region, including Lebanon, before the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz, according to Daily Sabah.
- 02
Abbas Araghchi told UN journalists: "Seçim artık ABD'ye ait" ("The choice now belongs to the US"), reports BBC News Türkçe.
- 03
According to the Wall Street Journal cited by Daily Sabah, Donald Trump posted a map of the strait renamed "Trump Strait" and considers it likely that bombing will resume after the November midterm elections.
ANALYSIS
Ankara, September 27, 2026. For the Turkish press, the diplomatic exchange surrounding the Strait of Ormuz illustrates less a military confrontation than a muted showdown, conducted under Qatari mediation and scrutinized from Ankara as a test of American word. According to Daily Sabah, Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi traveled to New York for the United Nations General Assembly and presented the Trump administration with a plan allegedly aimed at ending the fighting and reopening the strait within seven days, on condition that Washington lift its naval blockade on Iranian ports, unfreeze assets, and suspend oil sanctions - conditions already known, taken from the protocol signed in June. The novelty, notes Daily Sabah, lies in the tight calendar: Tehran has hinted that a rapid agreement could serve Donald Trump before the November midterm elections.
BBC News Türkçe reports Araghchi's statements to UN journalists: "Seçim artık ABD'ye ait" ("The choice now belongs to the United States"), and specifies that the proposal had been transmitted through Qatari mediators. An American official described the exchanges as "positive and constructive", according to the same source, while Secretary of State Marco Rubio mentioned "good" discussions and an openness to continue the dialogue.
But the Wall Street Journal, cited by the two Turkish titles, claims that Donald Trump has privately rejected the initiative, doubting that Tehran will keep its commitments, and indicated to his team that a resumption of bombings is likely after the November election. On Saturday, he published a map of the strait renamed "Trump Strait" on social media, a gesture that Daily Sabah notes without further comment, while signaling that Pezeshkian was returning to Tehran at the same time, according to Iranian state media.
The Turkish press also recalls the broader verbal climate: before the UN, Trump had threatened to "annihilate" the Islamic Republic, while Pezeshkian promised to fight "until the last breath" before opening the door to diplomacy at the end of his speech. For Ankara, this Ormuz proposal is part of the same ambiguity: a concrete, quantified offer, transmitted by a regional mediator that Turkey knows well, but suspended pending an American decision that is slow to come.
