Iran rejects US ceasefire plan, issues counterproposal

Launches more attacks on Israel and Gulf countries

Dubai: Iran on Wednesday dismissed an American plan to pause the war in the Middle East and launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, including an assault that sparked a huge fire at Kuwait international airport. Iran’s defiance came as Israel launched airstrikes on Tehran and as the United States deployed paratroopers and more Marines to the region.

Iranian state television’s English-language broadcaster, Press TV, quoted an anonymous official as saying Iran rejected America’s ceasefire proposal. Press TV’s report came after Pakistan transmitted the proposal to Iran.

“Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met,” Press TV quoted the official as saying. The official added Tehran will continue its “heavy blows” across the Middle East.

Earlier, two officials from Pakistan described the 15-point US proposal broadly, saying it addressed sanctions relief, a rollback of Iran’s nuclear programme, limits on missiles and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped.

An Egyptian official involved in the mediation efforts said the proposal also includes restrictions on Iran’s support for armed groups.  Some of those points were nonstarters in negotiations before the war: Iran has insisted it won’t discuss its ballistic missile programme or its support of regional militias, which it views as key to its security.

And its ability to control passage through the Strait of Hormuz represents one of its biggest strategic advantages.

Iran’s attacks on regional energy infrastructure along with its restrictions on the strait have sent oil prices skyrocketing and sparked fears of a global energy crisis, in turn putting pressure on the US to find a way to end the chokehold and calm markets.

At least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division will be sent to the Middle East in the coming days, three people with knowledge of the plans told AP.

The Pentagon is also in the process of sending about 5,000 more Marines, trained in amphibious assaults, and thousands of sailors to the region.

Mediators are pushing for possible in-person talks between the Iranians and the Americans, perhaps as soon as Friday in Pakistan, the Egyptian and Pakistani officials said.

Trump has said the US is “in negotiations right now” and that the participants included special envoy Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice-President JD Vance. He has not disclosed who from Iran they are in contact with, but said “the other side, I can tell you, they’d like to make a deal.”

Press TV, like all of Iran’s state TV channels is controlled by hardliners. It cited an Iranian five-point plan for a ceasefire from the official who rejected the US proposal.

That plan included a halt to killings of its officials, means to make sure no other war is waged against it, reparations for the war, the end of hostilities and Iran’s “exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.”

Those measures, particularly reparations and its continued chokehold over the Strait of Hormuz, likely will be unacceptable to the White House as energy supplies worldwide remain affected by the war.

While Iran and Oman both have territory in the Strait of Hormuz, its narrow shipping channels are viewed as international waters through which all ships can travel.

Israeli officials, who have been advocating for Trump to continue the war against Iran, were surprised by the submission of a ceasefire plan, according to a person who was briefed on the contours of the proposal.

Any talks between the US and Iran would face monumental challenges. It’s not clear who in Iran’s government has the authority to negotiate – or would be willing to, as Israel has vowed to continue killing the country’s leaders.

Iran remains highly suspicious of the United States, which twice under the Trump administration has attacked during high-level diplomatic talks, including with the February 28 strikes that started the current war.

“We have a very catastrophic experience with US diplomacy,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told India Today on Tuesday.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres blasted the various factions of the ongoing Middle East conflict, saying the fighting “has broken past limits even leaders thought imaginable”.

He urged the US and Israel to end the war with Iran and called on Tehran to stop attacking Gulf countries, saying “this has gone too far”.