Iran has received a response from the United States to its latest 14-point proposal for ending the war, but the Strait of Hormuz remains closed, officials from both countries said over the weekend.
US President Donald Trump said on Saturday he had been told about the concept of a deal with Iran, but was waiting for the exact wording. “They told me about the concept of the deal. They’re going to give me the exact wording now,” Trump said before boarding a flight to Miami. He added that he could not imagine the proposals would be acceptable and that Iran had not paid a big enough price for what it had done.
A senior Iranian official said on Saturday that Tehran’s 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 programme for later. The official confirmed that this new timeline had been spelled out in a formal proposal conveyed to the United States through mediators.
According to Iranian media, the 14-point proposal included the withdrawal of US forces from areas surrounding Iran, lifting the blockade, releasing Iran’s frozen assets, payment of compensation, lifting sanctions and ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, as well as a new control mechanism for the strait. Under the proposal, the war would end with a guarantee that Israel and the United States would not attack again. Iran would open the strait, and the United States would lift its blockade.
Trump said on Friday he was not satisfied with the latest Iranian proposal for talks on the Iran war. “They want to make a deal, but… I’m not satisfied with it,” he told reporters at the White House, adding that the Iranian leadership was “very disjointed” and split into two or three groups. “They’re asking for things that I can’t agree to,” he said.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said his country was ready to pursue diplomacy if the United States changes what he called its “excessive approach, threatening rhetoric and provocative actions.” However, Araqchi added in a post on his Telegram channel that “Iran’s armed forces remained ready to defend the country against any threat”.
Iran has been blocking nearly all shipping from the Gulf apart from its own for more than two months. Last month the US imposed its own blockade of ships from Iranian ports. Iran’s parliament speaker Ali Nikzad unveiled a “Strait of Hormuz management plan” that features 12 clauses. The three main ones are believed to be Israeli ships never passing through the strait, ships from “warring countries” having to pay war reparations to pass, and any other ships only being allowed to cross if they obtain “Iran’s permission” first. Nikzad warned navigation in the strait would never return to how it was pre-war when ships were allowed to pass through freely.
The US and Israel suspended their bombing campaign against Iran four weeks ago, but appear no closer to a deal to end a war that has caused the biggest disruption ever to global energy supplies. The closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which carries about a fifth of global oil and gas flows, has pushed Brent crude above $100 a barrel.
A senior Iranian military official warned that renewed conflict with the United States is “possible” after Trump rejected Tehran’s latest peace proposal. “Evidence has shown that the United States is not committed to any promises or agreements,” Brig Gen Mohammad Jafar Asadi, spokesman for Iran’s military headquarters, said. “Surprise measures are planned for the enemy, beyond their imagination”.
