US Proposed Peace Deal One-sided, Unfair, Says Iranian Official

A United States proposal for ending nearly four weeks of fighting is “one-sided and unfair,” a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday, while U.S. President Donald Trump said Iran must make a deal or face a continued onslaught.

The Iranian official, whose name was not disclosed, said the proposal, ‌conveyed to Tehran by Pakistan, “was reviewed in detail on Wednesday night by senior Iranian officials and the representative of Iran’s Supreme Leader.

“It lacked the minimum requirements for success and served only U.S. and Israeli interests,” the official said, while stressing that diplomacy had not ended despite the lack for now of a realistic plan for peace talks.

Trump described the Iranians as “great negotiators” but added that he was not sure he was “willing to make a deal with them to end the war.”

The conflict began when the U.S. and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. Iran has since launched strikes against Israel, U.S. bases and Gulf States.

U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff, confirmed that the U.S. had sent a “15-point action list” as a basis for negotiations to end the war, adding that there were signs that Tehran was interested in making a deal.

Pakistan’s foreign minister said “indirect talks” between the U.S. and Iran were taking place through messages relayed by Islamabad, with other states including Turkey and Egypt also supporting mediation efforts.

But Iran’s foreign minister said on Wednesday this did not amount to negotiation. “At present, our policy is to continue resistance and defend the country, and we have no intention of negotiating,” Abbas Araqchi said.

Any talks, were they to happen, would likely prove very difficult given the positions laid out by both sides.

According to sources and reports, the 15-point proposal to end the conflict includes demands ranging from dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme and curbing its missiles to effectively handing over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has hardened its stance since the war began, demanding guarantees against future military action, compensation for losses, and formal control of the Strait, Iranian sources said. It also told intermediaries that Lebanon must be included in any ceasefire deal, regional sources said.

Trump has not ‌identified who the ⁠U.S. is negotiating with in Iran, with many high-ranking officials among the thousands of people killed in the war across the Middle East.

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the conflict and was replaced by his son Mojtaba, who has been wounded and has not been seen in public since his appointment.

A Western diplomat said the U.S. had taken a “maximalist” position and there were doubts about whether Washington was genuinely seeking to end the war or instead buying time to calm markets as it prepares for a potential ground operation.

On Thursday, Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, triggering air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and other areas and injuring at least five people.

In Iran, strikes hit a residential ⁠zone in the southern city of Bandar Abbas and a village on the outskirts of the southern city of Shiraz, where two teenage brothers were killed, Iran’s Tasnim news agency said. A university building in Isfahan was reported to have been hit.