Trump is readying 3,000 paratroopers to send to the Middle East – as a former CIA operations officer told LBC the plan is “frankly preposterous”
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President Trump has reportedly sent a 15-point peace plan to Iran.
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Donald Trump has reportedly sent a 15-point plan to Iran detailing proposals to end the war in the Middle East – as Iran insisted the US is simply ‘negotiating with itself’.
The US Government has reportedly addressed Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programmes, which comes hours after the President said the country “agreed they’ll never have a nuclear weapon”.
While the proposals have not been verified, the New York Times reports that Trump’s administration are ramping up efforts to find a resolution to the conflict – which could see a one-month ceasefire.
It comes as Tehran appeared to mock Trump’s attempts to broker a ceasefire on Wednesday.
It also reportedly discusses the issues around maritime routes, according to officials, with Iran currently blocking Western ships from passing through the the Strait of Hormuz.
Speaking on Tuesday, Trump said the US had received a “very big present” from Iran which was “worth a tremendous amount of money”.
Read more: Farage denies Iran war stance U-turn and says Trump should be taken ‘seriously, not literally’
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President Donald Trump speaks during the swearing in for Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin in the Oval Office of the White House, Tuesday, March 24.
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Alamy
He said: “It wasn’t nuclear, it was oil-and gas-related, and it was a very nice thing they did”.
He also told reporters at the White House that Iran was “talking sense” to the US, and added: “The other side, I can tell you, they’d like to make a deal.
“Who wouldn’t if you were them? Their navy’s gone, their air force is gone, their communications, all of their anti-aircraft, their missiles.
“Can you name a single thing that’s not gone? Or one thing that’s doing well?”
However, former CIA operations officer Marc Polymeropoulos told LBC that he has doubts over reports about Trump’s plan.
First responders inspect the remains of a residential building hit in an overnight strike during the U.S.-Israeli military campaign in Tabriz, northwestern Iran, on March 24.
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He told Henry Riley: “this 15 point plan is frankly preposterous. The Iranians are going to reject it.
“It talks about, you know, decommissioning all of the nuclear programme ending support to proxies. So no one really is taking this seriously.
“Frankly, it’s reminiscent of the 20 point plan from Gaza, the 20 point plan from Ukraine, all of which fell apart. And so I don’t think anyone’s taking it particularly seriously.”
The plan was delivered by intervention of Pakistan, while Egypt and Turkey are also said to be encouraging Iran to engage constructively.
Pakistani PM, Shehbaz Sharif, wrote on social media that his country “fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end” the war.
He posted: “Subject to concurrence by the US and Iran, Pakistan stands ready and honoured to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict”.
However, concerns have been raised over how quick Iranian officials will be able to respond to the US proposals amid internal communication issues and worries over military threats from Israel if they were to meet in person.
Suggestions of a potential peace deal also come after it was revealed on Tuesday that the President is planning to send around 3,000 troops to the Middle East.
Formal orders to send the soldiers, who are reportedly from the US army’s 82nd airborne unit, is expected to be released in due course.
Iran also claimed it had “special plans” for Tel Aviv and its “regional allies” on Monday, which coincided with strikes being launched by the two countries against each other.
Any possibility of early peace talks seemed to have disappeared after a wave of missiles was fired at Israel on Monday, a day after Trump declared peace talks with Tehran had been “good and constructive”.
Steve Witkoff, left, and Jared Kushner are said to be leading negotiations with the assistance of Vice President JD Vance.
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Air raid sirens and blasts from interceptions could be heard across Tel Aviv, with six people said to have been lightly injured in the strikes.
Iran also hit the Eilat area in southern Israel, as well as the cities of Dimona and Yeruham.
Trump remained in a jubilant mood on Tuesday as he reiterated his stance that the US had already “won” the war.
He told reporters: “We’ve won this war. This war has been won.”
He added: “You read the New York Times, it’s like we’re not winning a war where they [Iran] have no navy and they have no air force, and they have nothing.
A view of oil facilities on the Kharg island on the Persian Gulf.
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“We literally have planes flying over Tehran and other parts of their country. They can’t do a thing about it.”
Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner, special envoy Steve Witkoff and US secretary of states Marco Rubio are said to be leading negotiations with the assistance of Vice President JD Vance.
On Monday, the President told Iran it had “one more chance at peace” amid conflicting reports that the two nations had undergone preliminary discussions for a ceasefire.
According to reports in the US, Trump is set to give the go-ahead to send the airborne soldiers to the Middle East, although the precise location is so far unknown.
If the move does go ahead, it’s possible the soldiers could be deployed to Kharg Island in Iran, which has already come under fire from the US.