US President Donald Trump outrightly rejected Iran’s counter-proposal aimed at ending the months-long war and termed Tehran’s response “totally unacceptable”.
“I have just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives.’ I don’t like it – TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” Trump wrote in a post on Monday.
The rebuke came as both sides, who have been trying to negotiate since April, are trying to reach a deal over Iran’s nuclear program and the terms of any potential ceasefire agreement.
Iran’s counter-proposal, delivered through Pakistan mediators, mentions a series of sweeping demands: the lifting of US sanctions, the release of frozen Iranian assets, and formal recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran also called for an immediate halt to the US naval blockade of its ports and guarantees of no further attacks on Iranian territory.
Mike Waltz, US Ambassador to the UN, said, “President Trump has been clear that they will never have a nuclear weapon and they cannot hold the world’s economies hostage.”
US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz, speaking on Fox News Sunday, said Washington had drawn a “very clear red line” in its own proposal. Iran’s nuclear ambitions remain the central sticking point; Trump has insisted Iran will never be permitted to develop nuclear weapons, a position Netanyahu has echoed, saying Iran’s enriched uranium stockpiles must be “taken out” before the conflict can be declared over.
“President Trump has been clear that they will never have a nuclear weapon, and they cannot hold the world’s economies hostage,” Waltz told “Fox News.
Notably, Iran’s counter-proposal, according to initial state media reports, does not make any reference to the nuclear program, the issue Washington says is “non-negotiable.”
Iranian officials have insisted that the current negotiating phase is focused solely on ending the war, with Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baqaei stating that halting the conflict is “a matter of concern for the entire region, for our nation, and for the international community.”
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, without directly referencing the proposal, offered a defiant public posture. “We will never bow our heads before the enemy,” he said Sunday, adding that “if talk of dialogue or negotiation arises, it does not mean surrender or retreat.”
Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency has dismissed details reported by The Wall Street Journal about Tehran’s proposed text, calling certain elements “significantly inaccurate,” particularly points relating to nuclear materials. A source said Iran’s text stresses the necessity of an immediate end to the war and guarantees against renewed aggression, along with the lifting of Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) sanctions linked to Iranian oil sales within a 30-day window following any initial agreement.
Despite the impasse, a ceasefire established to facilitate talks has seen exchanges of fire between the US and Iran in the Strait of Hormuz.
