Earlier, US President Donald Trump had said he was reviewing the proposal but doubted it would lead to a deal, saying on social media, “They (Iran) have not paid enough for what they have done to humanity and the world over the last 47 years, since the Islamic Revolution.” Meanwhile, a cargo ship near the Strait of Hormuz was attacked by several small ships.
Iran has proposed to end the war in 30 days
Iran’s latest proposal to the US calls for resolving issues between the countries within 30 days and is aimed at ending the war rather than prolonging the ceasefire, according to Iranian state media. President Donald Trump said Saturday he was reviewing the proposal but expressed doubt it would lead to a deal, saying on social media that “they haven’t paid a big enough price yet for what they’ve done for humanity and the world over the last 47 years”.On Sunday, Iran said it had received a US response to its proposal for peace talks. Iranian state media reported that Washington had expressed its response to Iran’s 14-point proposal through Pakistan, and Tehran is now reviewing it. There was no immediate confirmation of the US response from Washington or Islamabad.“At this stage, we do not have nuclear talks,” state media quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghai as saying, an apparent reference to Iran’s proposal to suspend talks on nuclear issues until the war ends and the parties agree to lift anti-Gulf shipping blockades.On Saturday, Trump said he still had to review the exact wording of the Iran peace proposal, but that it was likely he would reject it.The US and Israel suspended their bombing campaign against Iran four weeks ago, and US and Iranian officials held a round of talks. But efforts to organize further meetings have so far failed.Iran submitted its latest proposal on Thursday, and a senior Iranian official confirmed on Saturday that Tehran envisions ending the war first and resolving the shipping standoff, while leaving negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program for later.Although Trump initially said on Friday that he was not satisfied with the proposal, on Saturday he said he was still considering it. “They told me the concept of the deal. They’re going to tell me the exact terms now,” he told reporters. Asked if he might resume attacks on Iran, the US president responded: “I don’t want to say that. I mean, I can’t tell that to a reporter. If they misbehave, if they do something bad, right now we’ll see. But there is a possibility that it could happen.”The proposal to delay talks on nuclear issues until a later stage would seem to run counter to Washington’s repeated demands that Iran accept tougher restrictions on its nuclear program before the war ends.Washington wants Tehran to give up its stockpile of more than 400 kilograms of highly enriched uranium, which the US says could be used to make bombs. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, though it is willing to discuss some restrictions in exchange for lifting sanctions, as it agreed to in the 2015 deal that Trump abandoned.Iranian media said the 14-point proposal includes withdrawing US forces from surrounding areas, lifting the blockade, freeing frozen assets, providing compensation, lifting sanctions, ending the war on all fronts including Lebanon and creating a new control mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz.