Sources in Pakistan told Western media outlets on Wednesday that Tehran is reviewing a one-page, 14-point proposal that would formally conclude the conflict between the United States and Iran.
“The memorandum would be followed by discussions to unblock shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, lift U.S. sanctions on Iran and agree to curbs on Iran’s nuclear program,” Reuters reported. The memo laid out a period of 30 days for those subsequent negotiations.
Reuters quoted sources who said the memo seemingly abandoned some demands the Trump administration has made in the past, such as “curbs on Iran’s missile program and an end to its support for proxy militias in the Middle East.” It also did not mention Iran’s missing stockpile of some 900 pounds of near-weapons-grade uranium, which the administration has previously said Iran must surrender in order to end the war.
Reuters’ Pakistani source was enthusiastic about the proposal, saying “we are close” and “we will close this very soon.”
A spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry was more reserved, saying only that Iran had received the proposal, and would soon send its response to the U.S. via Pakistan.
Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, sniffed that the memo was “more of an American wish list than a reality,” and hinted Iran would reject it unless more concessions were offered.
“The Americans will not gain anything in a war they are losing that they have not gained in face-to-face negotiations,” he said.
Rezaei claimed Iran “has its finger on the trigger and is ready,” if the U.S. does not “grant the necessary concessions.”
Rumors of the agreement were enough to bring oil prices down by about 15 percent, although they nudged up again by eight percent after President Donald Trump said it was “too soon” to talk about signing a peace agreement. Oil remains about 60 percent more expensive than it was at the beginning of Operation Epic Fury.
Trump was sitting for an interview with the New York Post (NYP) on Wednesday morning when the paper asked if it should send a reporter to Pakistan to cover a new round of face-to-face negotiations with Iran. Trump replied: “I don’t think so.”
The president had been more optimistic in a Truth Social post he wrote shortly before the interview.
“Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran,” Trump wrote.
“If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before,” he added.
Trump echoed his remarks to the NYP in a phone interview with PBS later on Wednesday morning, saying it was “unlikely” he would send envoys to Pakistan for a new round of direct negotiations.
Trump said he felt like the U.S. and Iran might be getting closer to a deal, but added, “I felt that way before with them, so we’ll see what happens.”
“I think it’s got a very good chance of ending, and if it doesn’t end, we have to go back to bombing the hell out of them,” he said, suggesting that the ending — or, presumably, the renewed bombing — might come before he visits China next week.
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