Newsletters
Iranian authorities said Wednesday they had received the official U.S. response to Tehran’s proposal to end the Middle East war, state media reported, days after U.S. President Donald Trump publicly rejected the plan.
“At today’s Cabinet meeting, the American side’s proposal was presented to President Masoud Pezeshkian by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi,” government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told the official IRNA news agency.
She did not specify the content of the U.S. reply.
After seven months of conflict, indirect talks between the United States and Iran resumed last week on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.
Iran said it had put forward seven conditions for ending hostilities and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a vital route for oil and gas exports.
The strait lies at the heart of the conflict between Washington and Tehran, which began with U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February.
Tehran imposed a blockade on Hormuz after the war started, prompting Washington to respond with its own blockade on Iranian ports.
While not all of Tehran’s conditions have been made public, Iran is demanding a ceasefire across the Middle East, including in Lebanon, where its ally Hezbollah has been battling Israeli forces.
It is also demanding the unfreezing of Iranian assets abroad, the lifting of sanctions on its oil sector and an end to the U.S. naval blockade.
Trump rejected the proposal while speaking to reporters Saturday, but Tehran had been awaiting an official response through Qatari mediators.
Fighting has subsided in recent weeks, though Tehran has continued to target ships in the strait.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards said Wednesday that they had been striking small vessels attempting to pass through Hormuz.
“We have been striking ships for quite some time now—specifically the small vessels I mentioned that attempt to pass. We block their passage, yet the U.S. has not retaliated for a while,” Guards spokesperson Hossein Mohebi told state TV.
The United States, meanwhile, has stepped up its economic pressure on Iran, imposing sanctions on Iranian airlines and vowing to take a hard line against foreign companies that provide them with assistance.
Set as preferred source
Set as preferred source
1 min read
1 min read
