Iran’s state media reported Wednesday that Iran has rejected a U.S. ceasefire proposal. The Islamic Republic instead laid out its own demands to end the conflict in the Middle East.
Iranian state television’s English-language broadcaster, Press TV, reported Tehran’s refusal to comply with the plan, citing a senior political-security official involved in the matter.
Fars News Agency (FARS), another Iranian media outlet, also released an interview on Wednesday with an anonymous source who confirmed the U.S.’s efforts to propose a deal and begin indirect negotiations to end the war.
“Iran does not accept a ceasefire,” that source told FARS. “Basically, it is not logical to enter into such a process with those who violate the agreement.”
Press TV additionally reported Iran’s five-point counteroffer to the U.S. proposal.
According to the broadcaster, Iran’s conditions include, “A complete halt to ‘aggression and assassinations' by the enemy, guaranteed and clearly defined payment of war damages and reparations,” the establishment of safeguard measures to ensure that war is not waged against Iran again, “the conclusion of the war across all fronts and for all resistance groups involved throughout the region,” and complete control over the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s rejection comes after the U.S. Department of Defense deployed thousands of Army paratroopers and Marines to supplement roughly 50,000 U.S. troops already in the Middle East.
Amid the Pentagon’s deployment of U.S. personnel, the Trump administration offered the Islamic Republic a 15-point ceasefire plan late Tuesday, which was delivered by two Pakistani officials. The proposal included sanctions relief, a rollback of Iran’s nuclear program, limits on missiles, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The Associated Press (AP) shared that Iran has affirmed that it “won’t discuss its ballistic missile program or its support of regional militias, which it views as key to its security.”
According to FARS, the anonymous source also asserted that any possibility of ending the war will arise once Iran accomplishes its strategic goals in the conflict.
