Iran’s peace proposal, which the United States has emphatically rejected, demanded an end to the war, the lifting of sanctions and a halt to the naval blockade, along with the release of frozen Iranian assets and guarantees against future aggression, the Iranian foreign ministry has said.
The proposal, delivered via Pakistani mediators and made public by Tehran on Sunday, was dismissed by President Donald Trump as “totally unacceptable” in a post on his Truth Social platform. The US had presented its own one-page, 14-point memorandum of understanding a week earlier, offering to reopen the strategic Strait of Hormuz in exchange for a framework for talks on Iran’s nuclear programme.
Esmail Baghaei, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, said the Iranian offer had included “demanding an end to the war, lifting the (US) blockade and piracy, and releasing Iranian assets that have been unjustly frozen in banks due to US pressure”. He added that “safe passage through the strait of Hormuz and establishing security in the region and Lebanon were other demands of Iran, which are considered a generous and responsible offer for regional security”.
According to Iranian state media, Tehran also called for an immediate end to the war with guarantees against any renewed attack on the country, a 30-day window for the US to rescind sanctions on Iranian oil sales, and the unfreezing of nearly $20bn in Iranian assets. Compensation for war damages, which Tehran estimates at around $270bn, and recognition of Iran’s sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz were also part of the proposal.
Nuclear programme demands and Israeli stance
The US parameters for nuclear talks, as reported, included a moratorium on Iranian nuclear enrichment for up to 20 years; the transfer overseas, possibly to the US, of Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium (HEU), which could be used to make nuclear warheads; and the dismantling of Iranian nuclear facilities. According to the Wall Street Journal, the Iranian counter-proposal suggested a shorter moratorium, the export of part of the HEU stockpile and the dilution of the rest, and a refusal to accept the dismantling of facilities. Tehran has proposed deferring nuclear discussions to a later stage, insisting that the immediate focus must be on ending the war.
Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has taken a hardline position. “It’s not over, because there’s still nuclear material – enriched uranium – that has to be taken out of Iran. There’s still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled,” he told the CBS programme 60 Minutes, according to an excerpt published before its broadcast. Asked how the HEU should be removed, Netanyahu said: “You go in and you take it out,” adding that the best way would be to enter Iran to secure the fissile material as part of an agreement. He said Donald Trump had told him he wants “to go in there”.
Netanyahu also warned that the war would continue as long as Iran had a stockpile of HEU, and he asserted that Iran’s nuclear capabilities, regional proxies and missile production capacity had been significantly damaged but not eliminated.
In a separate interview, Trump appeared to take a more relaxed view of the stockpile, which the UN nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), says is buried deep under mountains in central Iran. The US president suggested that for the time being, satellite surveillance was sufficient to guarantee no one had access to it. However, he has also warned of military action if anyone attempts to access the material and suggested that US forces “make a journey” into Iran to secure nuclear assets.
The IAEA has repeatedly expressed concern over Iran’s enrichment of uranium to 60% purity – close to weapons-grade and lacking credible civilian justification. International monitors estimate Iran still possesses approximately 970 pounds of nearly bomb-grade uranium. As of November 2024, Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium included 182 kilograms at 60% purity, 840 kilograms at 20% purity and 2,595 kilograms at 5% purity. The agency has lost continuity of knowledge regarding Iran’s nuclear materials and has been denied full access by Tehran.
Escalation and military context
A ceasefire meant to facilitate peace talks came into effect in April. It has been largely observed, despite exchanges of fire and reports of strikes in the strategic Strait of Hormuz, which Iran has continued to effectively block in response to being attacked by the US and Israel in February. The US military in turn has blockaded Iranian ports since 13 April, claiming it has turned back 61 commercial vessels and disabled four.
Joint strikes by the US and Israel on Iran began on 28 February 2026, targeting military infrastructure and leadership, resulting in the death of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The US subsequently conducted “Operation Midnight Hammer” in June 2025, striking Iranian nuclear facilities at Natanz, Esfahan and Fordow. In response, Iran launched retaliatory missile and drone strikes. The US has indicated it has struck approximately 70% of its intended targets in Iran and that reconstruction would take two decades.
Iran has warned it would not hold back from retaliating against any new US strikes or permit more foreign warships in the Strait of Hormuz. Trump told US outlet Axios he had discussed the Iranian response in a phone call with Netanyahu, stressing that the Iran negotiations are “my situation, not everybody else’s”.
