{"id":365018,"date":"2026-03-25T21:23:10","date_gmt":"2026-03-25T21:23:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/365018\/"},"modified":"2026-03-25T21:23:10","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T21:23:10","slug":"iran-dismisses-us-ceasefire-plan-and-issues-its-own-counterproposal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/365018\/","title":{"rendered":"Iran dismisses US ceasefire plan and issues its own counterproposal"},"content":{"rendered":"

Iran has dismissed an American plan to pause the war in the Middle East and launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, including an assault that sparked a huge fire at Kuwait International Airport.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s foreign minister said his government does not plan any negotiations to end the war.<\/p>\n

In an interview with Iranian state TV, foreign minister Abbas Araghchi said his government has not engaged in talks to end the war, \u201cand we do not plan on any negotiations\u201d.<\/p>\n

Earlier, two officials from Pakistan, which transmitted the US plan to Iran, described the 15-point proposal broadly, saying it addressed sanctions relief, a rollback of Iran\u2019s nuclear programme, limits on missiles and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world\u2019s oil is shipped.<\/p>\n

An Egyptian official involved in the mediation efforts said the proposal also includes restrictions on Iran\u2019s support for armed groups.<\/p>\n

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt insisted the US and Iran are in ongoing talks even as Iranian officials deny it.<\/p>\n

\u201cTalks continue. They are productive, as the president said on Monday, and they continue to be,\u201d Ms Leavitt said at a White House briefing.<\/p>\n

She warned that if talks with Iran do not pan out, President Donald Trump \u201cwill ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before\u201d.<\/p>\n

Some of the points in the US ceasefire proposal were non-starters in negotiations before the war: Iran has insisted it will not discuss its ballistic missile programme or its support of regional militias, which it views as key to its security.<\/p>\n

\u201cWar is not the answer.<\/p>\n

We need a way out of this disaster.<\/p>\n

Diplomacy is the way out.<\/p>\n

Full respect of international law is the way out.<\/p>\n

Peace is the way out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 @antonioguterres<\/a> calls for an immediate end to the war in the Middle East.https:\/\/t.co\/6TRDOFZQPv<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/DJ1nQYA0y5<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 United Nations (@UN) March 25, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

And its ability to control passage through the Strait of Hormuz represents one of its biggest strategic advantages.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s attacks on regional energy infrastructure along with its restrictions on the strait have sent oil prices skyrocketing, putting pressure on the US to find a way to end the chokehold and calm markets.<\/p>\n

At least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division will be sent to the Middle East in the coming days, three people with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n

The paratroopers are trained to jump into hostile or contested areas to secure key territory and airfields.<\/p>\n

The Pentagon is also in the process of sending about 5,000 more Marines, trained in amphibious assaults, and thousands of sailors to the region.<\/p>\n

\"RescueRescue workers at the site of a residential building hit in an overnight strike in northwestern Iran (Matin Hashemi\/AP)\n<\/p>\n

The 15-point plan now in Iranian hands is \u201ca comprehensive deal\u201d to reach a ceasefire, according to the Egyptian official.<\/p>\n

Mediators are pushing for possible in-person talks between the Iranians and the Americans, perhaps as soon as Friday in Pakistan, the Egyptian and Pakistani officials said.<\/p>\n

Speaking on Tuesday at the White House, Mr Trump said the US is \u201cin negotiations right now\u201d and that the participants included special envoy Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, secretary of state Marco Rubio and vice president JD Vance.<\/p>\n

He has not said who from Iran they are in contact with.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a number of people doing it,\u201d Mr Trump said. \u201cAnd the other side, I can tell you, they\u2019d like to make a deal.\u201d<\/p>\n

U.S. forces have destroyed more than 9,000 military targets inside Iran, significantly removing the Iranian regime’s combat capability. pic.twitter.com\/7w1ZCS0JGn<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 U.S. Central Command (@CENTCOM) March 24, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which commands both the regular military and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, dismissed the idea of talks.<\/p>\n

Iranian leaders have repeatedly denied they are happening, while acknowledging that the foreign minister is in contact with various countries but not the US or Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur first and last word has been the same from day one, and it will stay that way \u2013 someone like us will never come to terms with someone like you,\u201d Lt Col Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for the headquarters, said in a video statement on state television.<\/p>\n

\u201cNot now, not ever.\u201d<\/p>\n

Israeli officials, who have been advocating for Mr Trump to continue the war against Iran, were surprised by the submission of a ceasefire plan, according to a person who was briefed on the contours of the proposal and also confirmed it had been submitted.<\/p>\n

\"PalestiniansPalestinians inspect the wreckage of an Iranian missile that landed in the West Bank village of Kifl Haris (Majdi Mohammed\/AP)\n<\/p>\n

Any talks between the US and Iran would face monumental challenges.<\/p>\n

It is not clear who in Iran\u2019s government has the authority to negotiate or would be willing to, as Israel has vowed to continue killing the country\u2019s leaders.<\/p>\n

Iran remains highly suspicious of the United States, which twice under the Trump administration has attacked during high-level diplomatic talks, including with the February 28 strikes that started the current war.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have a very catastrophic experience with US diplomacy,\u201d Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told India Today on Tuesday.<\/p>\n

UN secretary general Antonio Guterres criticised the various factions of the ongoing conflict, saying the fighting \u201chas broken past limits even leaders thought imaginable\u201d.<\/p>\n

He urged the US and Israel to end the war with Iran and called on Tehran to stop attacking Gulf countries, saying \u201cthis has gone too far\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Israeli military announced new wide-scale attacks on Iran early on Wednesday, targeting government infrastructure, and witnesses reported airstrikes in the northwestern city of Qazvin.<\/p>\n

Missile alert sirens sounded multiple times in Israel as Iran launched its own attacks.<\/p>\n

\"RescueRescue workers at a destroyed building in northwestern Iran (Matin Hashemi\/AP)\n<\/p>\n

Iran also kept up the pressure on its Gulf Arab neighbours, and Saudi Arabia\u2019s defence ministry said it had destroyed at least eight drones in the kingdom\u2019s oil-rich Eastern Province, and missile alert sirens sounded in Bahrain.<\/p>\n

Kuwait said it shot down multiple drones but one hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, sparking a fire, the General Civil Aviation Authority said.<\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s death toll has passed 1,500, its health ministry has said. In Israel, 16 people have died. At least 13 US military members have been killed, and more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.<\/p>\n

Authorities say more than 1,000 people have died in Lebanon, where Israel has targeted the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group, which has also fired on Israel.<\/p>\n

The news of potential negotiations drove down the price of oil, after it skyrocketed in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

Brent crude oil, the international standard, has neared 120 dollars a barrel during the conflict but was trading below 100 dollars on Wednesday. It is still up about 35% from the start of the war.<\/p>\n

Economists and leaders have warned of far-reaching effects if energy prices remain high \u2013 from rising prices of food and other basics to higher rates for mortgages and car loans.<\/p>\n

A big driver of the rise in the oil price has been Iran\u2019s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open sea.<\/p>\n

Iran has allowed a small number of ships through the strait, but has said no ships from the US, Israel or countries seen as linked to them can pass.<\/p>\n