DUBAI: The US and Iran on Monday (Apr 6) weighed a framework plan to end their five‑week-old conflict, as Tehran said it wanted a lasting end to the war and pushed back against pressure to swiftly reopen the Strait of Hormuz under a temporary ceasefire.
Iran conveyed its response to the US proposal for ending the war to Pakistan, rejecting a ceasefire and emphasising the necessity of a permanent end to the war, the official IRNA news agency said on Monday.
The Iranian response consisted of 10 clauses, including an end to conflicts in the region, a protocol for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting of sanctions, and reconstruction, the agency added.
Trump has threatened to rain “hell” on Tehran if it did not make a deal by 8pm EDT (0000 GMT) Tuesday that would allow traffic to start moving again through the vital route for global energy supplies.
“We won’t merely accept a ceasefire,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press on Monday.
“We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again.”
Iran’s rejection came after Israel struck a key petrochemical plant in the massive South Pars natural gas field and killed two paramilitary Revolutionary Guard commanders.
The gas field attack aimed at eliminating a major source of revenue for Iran, Israel said. The field is critical to electricity production, but the strike appeared to be separate from Trump’s threats. The gas field shared with Qatar is the world’s largest.
Trump has given multiple deadlines to Iran. The report of Iran’s rejection came as he was making comments to journalists at an annual Easter event at the White House, ahead of more extensive comments later in the day.
He said the US has studied a proposal for a 45-day ceasefire, a move he called a “very significant step” in the conflict.
“It’s a significant proposal, it’s a significant step. It’s not good enough, but it’s a very significant step,” Trump told reporters, adding that intermediaries “are negotiating now”.