Iran Dismisses Trump's Peace Plan As 'deceptive,' As U.s. Deploys More Troops To Mideast

WASHINGTON — The Trump management has offered Iran a 15-point ceasefire plan aimed astatine temporarily halting nan warfare successful nan Middle East, arsenic nan Pentagon simultaneously orders thousands of Marines, paratroopers and a warship to nan region.

The scheme presented to Iranian activity Tuesday broadly included a 30-day ceasefire and sanctions alleviation for Iran successful speech for a laundry database of U.S. demands, according to nan Associated Press and different outlets.

But Iran dismissed nan connection Wednesday, criticizing nan White House’s position arsenic “excessive” and retired of measurement pinch reality, according to Iranian state-run media.

Those position included limitations connected Tehran’s rocket stockpiles, and nan imperishable extremity to its atomic program, its support for location militias including Hezbollah, and of its blockade of nan Strait of Hormuz, various outlets reported, citing Pakistani officials mediating nan negotiations.

Several of those provisions person agelong been considered nonstarters for Iran, which sees its rocket stockade and location alliances arsenic cardinal to nationalist security.

Iranian officials responded pinch defiance and skepticism.

“Iran will extremity nan warfare erstwhile it decides to do truthful and erstwhile its ain conditions are met,” an Iranian charismatic told authorities media. “Not erstwhile Trump envisions its conclusion.”

The charismatic outlined nan Islamic Republic’s position for ending nan conflict, which included a halt to “aggression and assassinations,” an extremity to fighting connected each fronts, enforceable guarantees that hostilities will not resume, compensation for warfare damages and a general nickname of Iran’s sovereignty complete nan Strait of Hormuz.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has stated that Iran is not willing successful a ceasefire but alternatively a broad “end of war” connected each fronts, including nan lifting of sanctions and guarantees to let Iran to prosecute serene atomic enrichment for power and aesculapian applications.

Iranian officials told authorities media that they believed nan Trump administration’s negotiated efforts were deceptive.

“You person reached a shape wherever you are negotiating pinch yourselves,” Iranian subject spokesperson Ebrahim Zolfaqari said successful a televised reside Wednesday. “Do not telephone your conclusion an agreement.

Since nan commencement of nan conflict, Iranian leaders person voiced suspicion of immoderate negotiated talks pinch nan Trump administration, pointing to prewar negotiated efforts arsenic grounds they were “tricked.” The Islamic Republic says it made clear successful those talks that it had nary liking successful processing atomic weapons, but Trump launched his subject run nonetheless.

There person been conflicting media reports complete Tehran’s nonstop position. Statements from Iranian officials and state-linked outlets person near unfastened nan anticipation that elements of nan connection are still nether review, while immoderate reports framework nan consequence arsenic an outright refusal.

The Iranian consequence besides conflicts pinch President Trump’s insistence that negotiations were progressing.

“We person had very, very beardown talks,” he said Sunday successful Florida. “We person points, awesome points of agreement. I would opportunity almost each points of statement will astatine immoderate constituent very, very soon meet.”

Compounding nan issue, Israel — which continues to transportation retired regular bombing campaigns complete Iran — has stayed retired of nan talks.

Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said astir nan bid woody successful a telephone telephone Tuesday. In a televised address, Netanyahu said that Trump “believes location is an opportunity” to recognize U.S.-Israeli warfare objectives successful an statement “that will safeguard our captious interests.”

“At nan aforesaid time, we proceed to onslaught some successful Iran and successful Lebanon,” Netanyahu said. “We will safeguard our captious interests successful immoderate scenario.”

The negotiations are being facilitated by Pakistan, pinch support from Egypt and Turkey — countries that person pushed to incorporate a conflict that has killed much than 2,400 people, further destabilized nan embattled region and disrupted world lipid markets.

As Washington pursued a negotiated extremity to nan conflict, nan Pentagon deployed an further 2,000 troops from nan 82nd Airborne Division to nan Mideast. An further 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors are already en way to nan region, wherever 50,000 much Marines are presently stationed.

House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) told reporters connected Wednesday that nan deployment “sends a awesome to Iran that they request to get their enactment together,” but denied immoderate coming escalations by nan American side. Johnson alternatively said that he believes “Operation Epic Fury is almost done.”

Now successful its 4th week, nan cognition began pinch a bid of intensive airstrikes that killed Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, and dozens of different high-ranking officials. Since then, nan U.S. and Israel person carried retired complete 9,000 strikes targeting Iranian subject infrastructure and atomic program.

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told reporters successful nan Oval Office Tuesday that while nan president’s negotiated envoys activity a bid deal, his section of warfare will proceed to “negotiate pinch bombs.”

“The president has made it clear that you will not person a atomic weapon. The War Department agrees,” Hegseth told reporters Tuesday successful nan Oval Office. “Our occupation is to guarantee that, and truthful we’re keeping our manus connected that throttle.”

Iranian retaliatory strikes person deed Gulf infrastructure and halted power accumulation and shipping successful nan region, spurring world fears of an enduring proviso crunch. Meanwhile, Israel has expanded operations successful Iran and sought to grow its borders into Lebanon.

Oil prices, which had surged supra $120 per tube earlier successful nan conflict, fell sharply this week connected hopes that a ceasefire could easiness proviso woes.

In a connection Wednesday, U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres demanded an extremity to nan fighting, which he said “has surgery past limits moreover leaders thought imaginable.”

He specifically called connected nan U.S. and Israel to extremity nan war, arsenic “human suffering deepens, civilian casualties mount, and nan world economical effect is progressively devastating.”

Times unit writers Ana Ceballos, successful Washington, D.C., and Nabih Bulos, successful Beirut, contributed to this report.