Iran, meanwhile, insists that no negotiations for an offramp to the conflict are happening, even though Mohammed-Baqer Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran’s parliament, has reportedly been in talks with Trump Administration representatives.
The AP reported that an Iranian military spokesperson mocked Washington’s attempt at a ceasefire after the 15-point plan was reported. Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, in a recorded video statement that aired on state television Wednesday, addressed the U.S.: “Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves?”
The spokesman also claimed that the U.S.’s strategies on ending the conflict have so far failed. “The one claiming to be a global superpower would have already gotten out of this mess if it could,” Zolfaghari said. “Don’t dress up your defeat as an agreement. Your era of empty promises has come to an end.”
The Journal reported on Tuesday that Iran had set a high bar for cease-fire talks. Among the conditions Tehran is reportedly demanding are the closure of all American bases in the Gulf, reparations for attacks, a system in the Strait of Hormuz that would allow them to collect fees from transiting ships, allowing Iran to keep its missiles program without limitations, lifting all sanctions, the cessation of Israeli strikes on Hezbollah, and a guarantee that the war would not restart.