Teheran:Iran has put forward a new proposal to the United States in an attempt to revive stalled peace efforts, PTI reported citing a senior official familiar with the matter. The plan is billed as a “multi-layered” framework to reduce tensions and restart dialogue after weeks of fighting.
The war, which began on February 28 with military action by the US and Israel, has been put on hold since April 8. So far only one round of talks has been held, in Islamabad, but these failed to produce a breakthrough.
A gradual easing of hostilities is the new Iranian proposal. One such pillar is to de-escalate tensions in the Strait of Hormuz, a vital artery of global oil. Tehran says it can help secure safe shipping in the region if Washington agrees to reduce its military presence and ease economic sanctions, specifically on Iranian oil exports.
Economic normalisation as priorityIran also wants the nuclear programme to be decoupled from economic normalisation. Officials say that any strict commitments regarding nuclear activities should come after trade and oil flow are restored.
Nuclear flexibility with conditionsIran has shown some willingness to compromise on the nuclear issue. It still wants to be able to use nuclear energy in a peaceful way, but it has said it would be open to limits on uranium enrichment and stronger monitoring. But these kinds of steps would only happen if there were strong guarantees of sanctions relief as part of a bigger deal.
Tehran is also asking for formal recognition of its nuclear rights under international law, as well as guarantees that any deal will last and not be broken by one side. Another big demand is for security guarantees, which show worries about the US or its allies taking military action in the future.
Trump says Iran's terms are not acceptable.Donald Trump has said he is unhappy with the proposal, saying Iran is making demands he cannot accept. He said there had been some progress in talks, but he said there were divisions in Iran’s leadership and he questioned whether a final deal could be reached.
“I would prefer to see a negotiated outcome, but I’m not saying we’re not going to go in,” Trump said, adding he would not say whether the military campaign would resume.
Iranian officials, including Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi, responded saying the onus was now on the US to decide between diplomacy and confrontation. “Iran is prepared for both scenarios,” he said.
Trump extended the ceasefire last week for an indefinite amount of time to give more time for negotiations. This shows that diplomacy is still an option even though there are still disagreements.