Investing.com -- Iran’s response to a U.S. 14-point proposal for ending the war was relayed to the American side by Pakistani mediators on Sunday, but Tehran has rejected U.S. demands to dismantle its nuclear facilities and would not suspend uranium enrichment for 20 years, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing sources.
U.S. President Donald Trump quickly lashed out at the Iranian response on social media, calling it "totally unacceptable."
In its multi-page counter-proposal, Iran proposed an end to the war and a gradual reopening of the Strait of Hormuz to commercial vessels, with the U.S. also lifting its blockade of Iranian ships, the report said.
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A deal over Iran’s nuclear issues would then be negotiated over 30 days, with Tehran accepting that some of its highly enriched uranium would be diluted and the rest transferred to a third country.
Iran also demanded the uranium be returned should negotiations fail, and accepted a suspension of enrichment but for a shorter period than the 20-year timeline proposed by Washington.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB said Tehran’s text focuses on ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and ensuring shipping security.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu left a press conference at the Dead Sea to return to Jerusalem for what Israeli media described as an urgent phone call with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Earlier, Netanyahu told CBS in a pre-recorded interview that the war was "not over" and that the U.S. should enter Iran to take its enriched uranium stockpile. "You go in and you take it out," he said, adding that an agreement first would be "the best way."
Trump said earlier in the day that Iran had been "playing games" with the United States for 47 years. "They will be laughing no longer," he wrote on Truth Social.
Trump said Iran was "militarily defeated," telling television news program Full Measure, "Their leaders are gone, the A team is gone, the B team is gone, and probably the C team is gone."
Asked whether combat operations were over, Trump said, "No. We could go in for two more weeks and do every single target. We’ve done probably 70% of the targets."
U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright said on CBS’s Face the Nation that economic pressure on Iran’s leaders was intensifying and that if no clear progress emerged within days, Washington would revert to military means to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Democratic Senator Mark Kelly warned that U.S. munitions stockpiles had been depleted at a "shocking" rate and would take years to replenish, leaving the country less prepared for a potential conflict with China.
Drones struck a cargo vessel in Qatari territorial waters and were intercepted over Kuwait at dawn. Qatar condemned the attack northeast of Mesaieed port as "a flagrant violation of the principle of freedom of navigation." No injuries were reported. The UAE condemned the Kuwait strikes as a violation of Kuwaiti sovereignty.
Qatar’s Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani told Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi that closing the Strait of Hormuz "would only lead to deepening the crisis," and met U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff in Miami on Saturday.
Iran’s top military commander Ali Abdollahi, quoted by Fars news agency, said Tehran’s response to any hostile action would be "swift, severe, and decisive."
Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, who succeeded his father following his death in the strikes that triggered the war in March, has not been seen publicly since. Iranian officials said he is in good health.
