Iran says that the United States has responded to its 14-point proposal via Pakistan and that it is reviewing the response, AFP reports, citing state media. “At this stage, we do not have nuclear negotiations,” an Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson said, according to state media.
Earlier, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) said on Sunday that US President Donald Trump must choose between an "impossible" war or a "bad deal" with Iran.
In a post on X, the intelligence department of the IRGC said Tehran sent the US military a deadline to end its blockade of Iranian ports. It added that Europe, China and Russia were adopting a more critical tone toward Washington.
"There is only one way to read this: Trump must choose between 'an impossible military operation or a bad deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran. "The room for US decision-making has narrowed," it said.
US 'suffocating' Iran with blockade, claims Treasury chief
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has claimed that the United States is “suffocating” Iran’s leadership through an “economic blockade” launched alongside the US military offensive, reports AFP.
“This began with the order last March from President Trump on max pressure, and three weeks ago the president gave the order to Treasury … to begin Economic Fury,” Bessent said in a Fox News interview, referring to his department’s initiative to supplement the Pentagon’s “Operation Epic Fury.”
“We are suffocating the regime, and they are not able to pay their soldiers. This is a real economic blockade, and it is in all parts of government — all hands on deck,” he told the ‘Sunday Morning Futures’ programme.
Iran's plan aims to end war within 30 days: Al Jazeera
According to Al Jazeera, the Iranian plan, submitted to the US via Pakistan, has three main stages and aims to transform the ceasefire into an end to the war within 30 days.
It envisions a pledge of nonaggression, including from Israel, to ensure there’s no return to war and an end to fighting throughout the Middle East, Al Jazeera said, citing sources. The first phase would gradually open the Strait of Hormuz and lift the US siege on Iranian ports. Tehran would take charge of dealing with sea mines.
It also shared further details about the proposal as follows:
The second phase of the proposal stipulates Iran’s return to enrichment after the time limit at 3.6 per cent in accordance with the “zero-storage principle”.
The plan includes the US and Israel refraining from attacking Iran and its allies in exchange for Iran refraining from launching strikes.
The proposal rejects dismantling nuclear infrastructure or destroying Iran’s facilities.
Lifting sanctions includes the gradual release of frozen funds.
In the third phase, Tehran proposed entering into a strategic dialogue with Arab neighbours and building a security system that includes the entire Middle East.
Meanwhile, a senior Iranian official said that an Iranian proposal so far rejected by Trump would open shipping in the Strait of Hormuz and end the US blockade of Iran while leaving talks on Iran's nuclear program for later.
Iran has laid emphasis on ending the war with the US and Israel rather than extending the ceasefire in 14 points it sent to the US via Pakistan on Sunday in response to the US proposal of a ceasefire for two months.
According to the Iranian media, points were related to a guarantee that the US and Israel would not resort to aggression against the Islamic republic again; withdrawal of the US forces from Iran’s periphery; end of the naval blockade; unfreezing of Iran’s assets; lifting of sanctions; payment of reparations, a new mechanism governing the Strait of Hormuz; and an end of war on all fronts, including Lebanon.
Iran is presently awaiting the US response to its proposals. It has made it clear that all matters should be settled within 30 days. The US had previously presented Iran with a 15-point framework demanding, among other things, the complete reopening of the Strait of Hormuz and an end to Iran's nuclear programme.
Trump had told reporters on Friday that he was unimpressed with Iran's proposal thus far. "They want to make a deal, I'm not satisfied with it, so we'll see what happens," he said Friday. Washington has repeatedly said it will not end the war, which has led to the deaths of thousands of people, without a deal that prevents Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Analysts have cautioned that keeping Hormuz open is no longer sufficient on its own – what matters now is restoring predictability and stability to global energy flows.
The US and Israel had launched attacks against Iran on February 28 that caused an unprecedented hike in the petroleum products’ prices besides stopping the movement of ships through the Strait of Hormuz.