WASHINGTON — U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz defended President Donald Trump’s rejection of Iran’s latest proposal, saying Tehran wanted sanctions relief and access to billions of dollars in frozen assets before discussing its nuclear program. “They were asking for everything up front, with a promise that they would then talk,” Waltz said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union.” Iran’s proposal, rejected by Trump on Saturday, offered to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and resume nuclear negotiations in exchange for the United States lifting its naval blockade of Iranian ports, waiving sanctions on Iranian oil sales and agreeing to a seven-day ceasefire that would include Lebanon. Trump told reporters Iran wanted to reopen the strait because it was “losing so badly,” and claimed the United States had “total control” of the passage. Those were the president’s characterizations of the conflict. Waltz also responded to a Friday report, citing U.S. officials, that Trump had told aides he expected to resume bombing Iran after the November midterm elections. Waltz said he did not believe Trump had made that statement himself, calling it newspaper reporting. He added that Iran was miscalculating if it thought Trump was letting domestic politics shape his decisions. The conflict and rising gas prices are creating political pressure for Republicans ahead of the midterms. The Strait of Hormuz is a key shipping route, and disruption there can affect energy markets, making the course of the conflict consequential well beyond the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program.