Trump Rejects Iran Peace Terms

Iran had responded to Washington’s latest peace proposal earlier in the day, warning that it would not refrain from retaliating against new US attacks or allowing more foreign warships in the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump did not provide any details about Tehran’s counteroffer, but made clear that he rejected it in a short post on his Truth Social platform.

“I just read the response from Iran’s so-called ‘Representatives’. I don’t like it; TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!” Trump said.

Mutual developments took place after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose forces, together with the US army, launched a war against Iran on February 28, insisted that the conflict would not end until Iran’s enriched uranium was removed and its nuclear facilities were dismantled.

Despite behind-the-scenes diplomacy, Tehran maintained its defiant stance publicly.

“We will never surrender to the enemy, and if there is talk of dialogue or negotiation, this does not mean surrender or withdrawal,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on X on Sunday. he said.

According to state broadcaster IRIB, Tehran’s response to the US plan, conveyed to Pakistani mediators, focuses on ending the war “on all fronts, especially in Lebanon, where Israel continues its fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah” and “ensuring shipping security”.

Although the US proposal reportedly focused on extending the ceasefire in the Gulf to allow for a final resolution of the conflict and talks on Iran’s controversial nuclear program, few details were offered in the proposal.

This impasse has unnerved global energy markets, with oil prices opening sharply higher on Monday. International benchmark Brent crude oil rose by 2.69 percent to $104.01 per barrel for July delivery.

Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium must be removed before the end of the war, Netanyahu said in an interview published Sunday.

Netanyahu told CBS’s “60 Minutes” program: “It’s not over, because there is still nuclear material, enriched uranium, that needs to be removed from Iran. There are still enrichment facilities that need to be dismantled.”

He added that Trump agrees on enriched uranium, but said in a recent interview that the US could extract it “any time we want” and that it is “very well monitored” where it is now.

A senior US administration official said Trump is expected to pressure Chinese President Xi Jinping, one of the major buyers of Iranian oil, on Iran when he visits Beijing next week.

– No ‘intervention’ in Hormuz –

Meanwhile, The Wall Street Journal, citing people familiar with the matter, said Iran has conveyed its own demands to Washington, proposing that some of its highly enriched uranium be diluted and the rest transferred to a third country.

Sources speaking to the Journal said Iran, in its response through mediator Pakistan, asked for guarantees that the transferred uranium would be returned in case the negotiations fail or Washington later withdraws from the deal.

Trump did not address such details in rejecting Iran’s response.

Iran imposed a blockade on the vital Strait of Hormuz at the beginning of the war, causing global oil prices to rise and financial markets to shake.

It has since established a payment mechanism to collect tolls from ships crossing the strait, but US officials have stressed that it would be “unacceptable” for Tehran to control an international waterway and the route of one-fifth of the world’s oil and other vital goods.

Meanwhile, the U.S. Navy is blockading Iran’s ports, occasionally disabling or diverting ships traveling to and from those ports.

Britain and France are leading efforts to form an international coalition to ensure the security of the strait after the peace agreement is reached, and both countries are sending ships to the region in advance.

The British government said the two countries on Tuesday will host a multinational meeting of defense ministers from more than 40 countries on military plans to revive trade flows in the Strait of Hormuz.

But Iran warned on Sunday that it would face a “decisive and urgent response” from Britain and France if they deployed their ships in the strait.

Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Kazim Garibabadi, in his post on X, said, “Only the Islamic Republic of Iran can ensure the security of this strait and will not allow any country to intervene in such matters.” he said.

French President Emmanuel Macron later emphasized that his country “never envisaged” a naval deployment in Hormuz, but instead a security mission “coordinated with Iran.”

– ‘Restrictions are over’ –

New drone strikes in the Gulf on Sunday were the latest to shake the ceasefire after several recent flare-ups.

The United Arab Emirates said that its “air defense systems successfully neutralized two UAVs launched from Iran.”

Kuwait also reported an attempted strike, saying its armed forces were combating “a number of enemy UAVs in Kuwaiti airspace.”

Qatar’s defense ministry said a cargo ship arriving in its territorial waters from Abu Dhabi was hit by a drone.

There was no claim of responsibility, but Iran’s Fars news agency reported that “the bulk carrier that was hit near the coast of Qatar was sailing under the US flag.”

The spokesperson of the Iranian parliament’s national security commission warned Washington in a post on social media on Sunday: “Our restrictions have ended as of today.”

“Any attack on our ships will trigger a strong and decisive Iranian response against American ships and bases,” Ibrahim Rezaei said.