Trump Rejects Iran's Seven-Day Ceasefire Proposal, Tells Aides He Expects to Resume Bombing After Midterms

President Trump has rejected a seven-day ceasefire proposal from Iran and told aides he expects US bombing of Iran to resume after the November midterm elections, the Wall Street Journal reported Saturday, September 26, 2026, citing US officials. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's plan, floated through Qatari mediation, offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz within seven days, resume nuclear talks and observe regional ceasefires in exchange for the US lifting its Gulf of Oman naval blockade, waiving sanctions on Iranian oil sales and unfreezing assets. The proposal followed a roughly three-hour, Qatar-mediated meeting between US envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner and Iranian officials that Secretary of State Marco Rubio said 'did not produce a breakthrough' but was 'significant' for occurring at all. Officials said Trump is privately skeptical Tehran will meet US terms, is reluctant to resume major combat operations, and that the scope of any renewed strikes remains undefined — with his ultimate decision described as likely to hinge as much on the outcome of the midterms as on developments in the six-month-old war.