Wars 2026 02/28 Israel-Iran War 3.0

[Saif]

US 15-point plan 'conveyed to Iran via Pakistan': officials to AFP

Proposals from the United States to end the war in Iran have been sent to Tehran through Pakistani intermediaries

en.prothomalo.com

US 15-point plan 'conveyed to Iran via Pakistan': officials to AFP

Published: 25 Mar 2026, 20: 01

Pakistan prime minister Shehbaz Sharif Reuters file photo

Proposals from the United States to end the war in Iran have been sent to Tehran through Pakistani intermediaries, two senior officials in Islamabad told AFP on Wednesday.

The confirmation came after US President Donald Trump voiced optimism at ending a nearly a month of conflict, and Tehran announced it would let "non-hostile" oil vessels through the crucial Strait of Hormuz.

Pakistan has been touted as a possible mediator given its longstanding ties with both neighbouring Iran and the United States, as well as close contacts in the region.

The 15-point US plan to stop the fighting, which has spread across the Middle East, had been "conveyed to Iran via Pakistan", the two Pakistani officials said, requesting anonymity as they were not allowed to speak publicly on the matter.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and his deputy, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, have been in close contact with top Iranian officials, and said they were ready to host any talks.

They have also been keen to keep Gulf allies onside, and on Wednesday morning, Sharif''s office said he spoke to Saudi Arabia''s de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.

Islamabad and Riyadh have a mutual defence pact.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on 17 September 2025. Reuters file photo

The head of the Pakistan army, Field Marshal Asim Munir, has also been involved in diplomatic efforts, and spoke to Trump on Sunday, the senior officials said.

Earlier on Wednesday, Iran''s ambassador to Pakistan said there had been no talks between Washington and Tehran, despite Trump''s indication of tentative progress.

"According to my information -- and contrary to Trump''s claims -- so far, no negotiations, direct or indirect, have taken place between the two countries," said Reza Amiri Moghadam.​

 

[Saif]

Iran sees US peace plan as 'one-sided' as Trump presses for deal

A US proposal for ending nearly four weeks of fighting is "one-sided and unfair", a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday, while US President Donald Trump said Iran must make a deal or face a continued onslaught. The Iranian official said the proposal, conveyed to Tehran by Pakistan, "w

thefinancialexpress.com.bd

Iran sees US peace plan as 'one-sided' as Trump presses for deal

REUTERS
Published :
Mar 27, 2026 00:52
Updated :
Mar 27, 2026 00:52

A person walks past debris at the site of an Israeli strike, following an escalation between Hezbollah and Israel amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, Zuqaq al-Blat district in central Beirut, Lebanon, Mar 18, 2026. Photo : REUTERS/Khalil Ashawi

A US proposal for ending nearly four weeks of fighting is "one-sided and unfair", a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday, while US President Donald Trump said Iran must make a deal or face a continued onslaught.

The Iranian official said the proposal, conveyed to Tehran by Pakistan, "was reviewed in detail on Wednesday night by senior Iranian officials and the representative of Iran's Supreme Leader".

It lacked the minimum requirements for success and served only US and Israeli interests, the official said, while stressing that diplomacy had not ended despite the lack for now of a realistic plan for peace talks.

Trump described the Iranians as "great negotiators" but added that he was not sure he was "willing to make a deal with them to end the war".

The conflict began when the US and Israel attacked Iran on Feb 28. Iran has since launched strikes against Israel, US bases and Gulf states.

"They now have the chance, that is Iran, to permanently abandon their nuclear ambitions and to join a new path forward," Trump said during a Cabinet meeting at the White House. "We'll see if they want to do it. If they don't, we're their worst nightmare. In the meantime, we'll just keep blowing them away."

His comments came as the economic and humanitarian toll of the conflict mounted, with fuel shortages spreading worldwide, sending companies and countries scrambling to contain the fallout.

Maximalist Positions

US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff confirmed that the US had sent a "15-point action list" as a basis for negotiations to end the war, adding that there were signs that Tehran was interested in making a deal.

Pakistan's foreign minister said "indirect talks" between the US and Iran were taking place through messages relayed by Islamabad, with other states including Turkey and Egypt also supporting mediation efforts.

But Iran's foreign minister said on Wednesday this did not amount to negotiation. "At present, our policy is to continue resistance and defend the country, and we have no intention of negotiating," Abbas Araqchi said.

Any talks, were they to happen, would likely prove very difficult given the positions laid out by both sides.

According to sources and reports, the 15-point proposal to end the conflict includes demands ranging from dismantling Iran's nuclear programme and curbing its missiles to effectively handing over control of the Strait of Hormuz.

Iran has hardened its stance since the war began, demanding guarantees against future military action, compensation for losses, and formal control of the Strait, Iranian sources say. It also told intermediaries that Lebanon must be included in any ceasefire deal, regional sources said.

Trump has not identified who the US is negotiating with in Iran, with many high-ranking officials among the thousands of people killed in the war across the Middle East.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed on the first day of the conflict and was replaced by his son Mojtaba, who has been wounded and has not been seen in public since his appointment.

A Western diplomat said the US had taken a "maximalist" position and there were doubts about whether Washington was genuinely seeking to end the war or instead buying time to calm markets as it prepares for a potential ground operation.

Waves of Missiles

On Thursday, Iran launched multiple waves of missiles at Israel, triggering air raid sirens in Tel Aviv and other areas and injuring at least five people.

In Iran, strikes hit a residential zone in the southern city of Bandar Abbas and a village on the outskirts of the southern city of Shiraz, where two teenage brothers were killed, Iran's Tasnim news agency said. A university building in Isfahan was reported to have been hit.

Israeli officials said Israel had killed the naval commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, and that it had many more targets left as it degraded Iranian capabilities.

Still, Israel took Araqchi and Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf off its hit-list after Pakistan urged Washington to press Israel not to target people who could be negotiating partners, a Pakistani source with knowledge of the discussion told Reuters. An Israeli military spokesperson declined to comment.

Stock Rally Fades, Oil Prices Resume Rise

Hopes of a resolution to the conflict that had boosted global stock markets in the previous session dimmed on Thursday, with oil prices resuming their surge.

The fallout from the war, which has caused the worst energy shock in history, has spread far beyond the region.

With the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas, effectively closed, the impact is rippling through sectorsfrom plastics and airlines to technology, retail and tourism.

Some governments are weighing support measures last used during the COVID pandemic. Farmers are struggling to source diesel for their tractors and tens of millions more people will face acute hunger if the war continues into June, the World Food Programme estimates.

Exchanges of missiles and drones across the Gulf continued on Thursday.

In Abu Dhabi, two people were killed and three others injured by debris from an intercepted ballistic missile, the government said.​