Iran sees US peace plan as ‘one-sided’ as Trump presses for deal

DUBAI/WASHINGTON: A US proposal for ending nearly four weeks of fighting is “one-sided and unfair”, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday, while US President Donald Trump said Iran must make a deal or face a continued onslaught. The Iranian official 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 US 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”. Iran has launched strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states as well as effectively blocking Middle East fuel exports via the Strait of Hormuz since the US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28. “They now have the chance, that is Iran, to permanently abandon their nuclear ambitions and to join a new path forward,” Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. “We’ll see if they want to do it. If they don’t, we’re their worst nightmare. In the meantime, we’ll just keep blowing them away.” Oil jumped to $105 a barrel on Thursday and stock markets fell on renewed pessimism over ceasefire prospects as global plastics, technology, retail and tourism struggled with the impact. The president, who is expected to send thousands of troops to the Middle East, driving expectations of a ground invasion, also said taking control of Iran’s oil was an option but gave no further details. A note seen by Reuters on Tuesday to the United Nations from Iran said “non-hostile vessels” could transit the strait if they coordinated with Iranian authorities. A Thai oil tanker has passed through the strait following diplomatic coordination with Iran, and Malaysia said its vessels were also being allowed to transit in a sign that restrictions were loosening for some countries. Iran would be receptive to any request from Spain related to the strait, its embassy in Madrid said, in the first such offer to an EU state. US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that the US had sent a “15-point action list” as a basis for negotiations to end the war. Pakistan’s foreign minister said “indirect talks” between the US and Iran were taking place through messages relayed by Islamabad, with other states including Turkey and Egypt also supporting mediation efforts. 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 includes demands ranging from dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme and curbing its missiles to effectively handing over control of the strait.

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