President Donald Trump rejected Tehran’s written reply to a U.S. 15-point ceasefire framework on Sunday, calling Iran’s response "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE" in a post on Truth Social as Tehran said it wouldn't surrender and set conditions likely to keep the Strait of Hormuz largely closed. The American plan, delivered to Iran via Pakistan on March 24, ties sanctions relief and reopening of the strait to limits on Iran’s nuclear and missile activities and curbs on support for regional proxies. Mediators have since circulated variants of the proposal, but neither Washington nor Tehran has accepted terms that would guarantee safe commercial traffic, and markets have reacted to the uncertainty. President Trump set a public deadline for Iran to reopen the strait by Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET.
President Trump’s blunt public rejection came after Tehran submitted a written counterproposal to the U.S. Plan, according to multiple accounts. In his Truth Social post, Mr. Trump described Iran’s reply as "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE." Iranian leaders, for their part, rejected any notion of surrender. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X that Tehran will "never bow our heads before the enemy," and Iranian officials said their response demanded guarantees that hostilities stop and that Iran’s sovereignty and seized assets be restored.
What Washington proposed
The U.S. Submission is reported as a 15-point framework that was handed to Tehran through Pakistan on March 24. The blueprint links sanctions relief and a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to limits on Iran’s nuclear and missile activities and to curbs on support for armed proxies in the region, according to diplomatic accounts. Washington has framed those elements as prerequisites for any permanent ceasefire and as the basis for future constraints on Iran’s nuclear program.
Mediators from the region and beyond have circulated draft variants of the plan. U.S., Egyptian, Pakistani and Turkish intermediaries are said to have exchanged versions, and one circulated offer combined an initial 45-day pause in hostilities with a negotiating window toward a permanent settlement. Negotiators have floated confidence-building measures, including limited maritime approvals in some cases, as a way to begin reopening commercial channels.
Tehran’s demands and the sticking points
Tehran’s written reply set out a different list of priorities. Iranian officials demanded an end to sanctions and to what they called a U.S. Naval blockade, the release of frozen Iranian assets, either war reparations or a formal and permanent end to the war, and explicit arrangements for control or administration of traffic through the Strait of Hormuz. Those conditions would in effect leave the strait closed to ordinary commercial navigation until Tehran’s demands were met, according to sources familiar with the reply.
The two sides also disagree on whether Iran offered any nuclear concessions. One account described an Iranian willingness to dilute some highly enriched uranium and to transfer part of its stockpile to a third country under conditional return arrangements. Iran’s semi-official outlets disputed that description, and at least one person familiar with the talks said the counterproposal made no reference to the nuclear program. Reports diverge on whether Tehran formally acknowledged receiving the U.S. Plan before dismissing it.
Some officials say the American proposal was delivered and discussed via Pakistan, while other accounts say Iran didn't confirm receipt.
Those factual contradictions make the mediation effort. Mediators and negotiators say they're still shuttling drafts between the two capitals. U.S. Negotiators and regional mediators continue to press for talks, and some participants have discussed the possibility of in-person negotiations in Pakistan as soon as this week.
Diplomacy is unfolding against an active military and economic backdrop. The conflict, which followed U.S.-Israeli strikes on Feb. 28, remains alive with periodic airstrikes and missile exchanges. U.S. Officials briefed on deployments said Washington has moved additional forces to the region as a deterrent, including plans to send elements of the 82nd Airborne Division and several thousand Marines and sailors. That military posture hasn't removed the immediate risks to commercial shipping.
Markets have reflected the heightened danger. Oil prices have carried an energy-risk premium as traders price the possibility of further disruptions. Equities and cryptocurrencies have shown heightened volatility on each new headline. Mediators have tried limited measures to ease tensions at sea. At least one liquefied natural gas tanker transited the Strait of Hormuz under a restricted approval as negotiators sought to test trust-building steps.
Two operational incidents reported in single accounts add to the fog. One report described a large fire at Kuwait International Airport after an assault, and another said the South Pars petrochemical complex had been struck and attributed the attack to U.S.-Israeli strikes. Those incidents aren't corroborated across the set of reporting on the talks.
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Mr. Trump’s hard deadline. Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET, sets a clear next milestone, while mediators work to arrange in-person talks in Pakistan as soon as this week.
This article was created with AI assistance.
