Iran on Monday responded to the latest United States peace proposal, with foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei confirming that exchanges were continuing through Pakistani mediation despite deepening disagreements over core terms.
The exchange marks the latest move in a back-and-forth that has unfolded since the conflict broke out on February 28. A fragile ceasefire has been in place since April 8, though a US naval blockade on Iranian ports, imposed on April 13, remains active. The two sides have held only one formal round of talks.
Tehran’s state media described Washington’s latest five-point proposal as excessive. According to Iran’s Fars news agency, the US demands included a requirement for Iran to operate only a single nuclear facility and to transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States. Washington also reportedly refused to release even a quarter of Iran’s frozen assets abroad and rejected any payment of war reparations, making formal peace negotiations a precondition for ending hostilities.
Iran’s Mehr news agency said Washington was seeking concessions it had failed to secure through military means, warning that such an approach would produce an impasse.
Baqaei pushed back firmly, defending Tehran’s own demands, which include full sanctions relief, the release of frozen assets and US reparations for what Iran characterises as an illegal conflict. Iran also insists on its continued control over the Strait of Hormuz, the critical energy waterway it has largely kept closed since the war began.
“Iran was fully prepared for any eventuality,” Baqaei said, addressing the possibility of renewed military confrontation.
Iran’s earlier proposal, submitted last week, called for a comprehensive ceasefire across all fronts, including an end to Israel’s campaign in Lebanon, which Tehran has tied to any broader settlement.
