ISLAMABAD/JERUSALEM: The United States sent a 15-point plan to Iran for a possible ceasefire, an official said, even as it began to move paratroopers to the Mideast to back up a contingent of Marines heading there on Wednesday. Iran’s military scoffed at the diplomatic effort and launched more attacks on Israel and the Arabian Gulf region, including an assault that sparked a fire at Kuwait International Airport.
With growing pressure on the US to end the war as it nears the end of its first month, Washington submitted the plan to Iran through intermediaries from Pakistan who have offered to host renewed negotiations, according to a person briefed on the contours of the proposal who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Two Pakistani officials on Wednesday confirmed that Iran has received the proposal.
They described the proposal broadly as touching on sanctions relief, civilian nuclear cooperation, a rollback of Iran’s nuclear program, monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency, missile limits and access for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Arabian Gulf.
The officials spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity as they weren’t authorized to release the details.
HIGHLIGHTS
• Trump says Iranian ‘present’ was related to oil and gas
• Pakistan willing to host peace talks to end war
• US-Israeli war on Iran now in its fourth week
More US troops on the way even as diplomacy continues
At least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division will be sent to the Mideast in the coming days, three people with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press.
The Pentagon is also in the process of deploying two Marine units that will add about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region. The moves are being framed as US President Donald Trump maneuvering to give himself “max flexibility” on what he will do next, the person added.
Trump has said that American officials are in negotiations with Iran, though he hasn’t said who they are in contact with.
Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which commands both the regular military and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, suggested there are no talks.
“Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves?” said Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for the headquarters.
“Our first and last word has been the same from day one, and it will stay that way: Someone like us will never come to terms with someone like you,” Zolfaghari said in the video statement aired on state television. “Not now, not ever.”
Israel launches new wide-scale strikes on Iran
The Israeli military announced it had begun new wide-scale attacks early Wednesday on Iran targeting government infrastructure, and witnesses reported airstrikes in the northwestern city of Qazvin.
Missile alert sirens began early in the morning in Israel as Iran launched its own attacks, which have been a daily occurrence since Israel and the US attacked Iran on Feb. 28 to start the war.
Iran also kept up the pressure on its Gulf Arab neighbors, with Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry saying it had destroyed at least eight drones in the kingdom’s Eastern Province, and missile alert sirens sounding in Bahrain.
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. Firefighters were working to contain the blaze.
Iran has allowed a small number of ships through the Strait of Hormuz, which leads from the Arabian Gulf to the open ocean, but none from the US, Israel or countries seen as linked with them.
Asked in an interview with India Today on Tuesday whether Iran was charging ships for passage, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said “absolutely,” but did not elaborate.
Brent crude oil, the international standard, has neared $120 a barrel during the conflict but was trading at around $100 in morning trading as talks of a possible ceasefire helped calm prices. That’s still up nearly 40 percent from the start of the war.
Diplomatic efforts calm energy prices but face huge hurdles
Any talks between the US and Iran would face monumental challenges. Many of Washington’s shifting objectives, particularly over Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, remain difficult to achieve.
It’s not clear who in Iran’s government has the authority to negotiate — or would be willing to, as Israel has vowed to continue killing the country’s leaders.
Iran remains highly suspicious of the United States, which twice under the Trump administration has attacked during high-level diplomatic talks, including with the strikes that started the current war.
“We have a very catastrophic experience with US diplomacy,” Baghaei told India Today, adding that Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi had been in contact with Pakistani and other regional diplomats but that “there are no talks or negotiations between Iran and the United States.”
Zolfaghari said that the US was in no position to negotiate.
“The strategic power you used to talk about has turned into a strategic failure,” he said. “The one claiming to be a global superpower would have already gotten out of this mess if it could.”
Speaking Tuesday at the White House, Trump said the US is “in negotiations right now” 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.
“We have a number of people doing it,” Trump said. “And the other side, I can tell you, they’d like to make a deal.”
Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan says no talks with US yet
Iran's ambassador to Pakistan also told Iranian state media IRNA on Wednesday that no direct or indirect talks between Tehran and Washington had taken place, contradicting US President Donald Trump’s remarks about Iran seeking a deal.
“Based on my information, contrary to Trump’s claim, no direct or indirect negotiations have taken place between the two countries so far,” Reza Amiri Moghadam said, adding that “friendly countries seek to lay the ground for dialogue between Tehran and Washington, which we hope will be fruitful in ending this imposed war.”
Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday that Islamabad was ready to host any talks.
Iran’s death toll has surpassed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said. In Israel, 16 people have been killed.
Authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000 people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million.
At least 13 US military members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.
