DUBAI/WASHINGTON – The United States and Iran on Monday were weighing the framework of a plan to end their five‑week-old conflict, even as Tehran pushed back against pressure to swiftly reopen the Strait of Hormuz on the eve of a new ultimatum set by President Donald Trump.
The U.S. leader has threatened to rain “hell” on Tehran if it did not make a deal by the end of Tuesday that would allow traffic to start moving again through the vital route for global energy supplies.
Iran responded to U.S. and Israeli attacks in February by effectively closing Hormuz, a conduit for about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supply. The waterway’s stranglehold on the global economy has proved a powerful Iranian bargaining chip and on Monday it showed reluctance to relinquish it too easily.
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran will not reopen the Strait as part of a temporary ceasefire, nor would it accept deadlines or pressure to reach a deal. Washington was not ready for a permanent ceasefire, the official said.
The Pakistani-brokered plan emerged from intense overnight contacts and proposes an immediate ceasefire, followed by talks on a broader peace settlement to be concluded within 15 to 20 days, a source aware of the proposals said on Monday.
Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was in contact “all night long” with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the source said.
Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday Tehran had formulated positions and demands based on its interests and communicated them through intermediaries.
Baghaei told a press conference details of the response would be announced in due time, but added negotiations were “incompatible with ultimatums and threats to commit war crimes.”
Iran’s demands “should not be interpreted as a sign of compromise, but rather as a reflection of its confidence in defending its positions,” Baghaei said, adding that earlier U.S. demands, such as a 15-point plan, were rejected as “excessive”.
CEASEFIRE PROPOSAL ‘ONE OF MANY IDEAS’
Trump will speak about the ceasefire proposal at a press conference at 1 p.m. ET, a White House official told Reuters.
“This is one of many ideas, and (Trump) has not signed off on it. Operation Epic Fury continues,” they said, referring to the U.S. name for the operation against Iran.
Brent crude futures had fallen by 36 cents to $108.67 a barrel by 1222 GMT as investors assessed ceasefire prospects.
In a post laden with expletives on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump threatened further strikes on Iranian energy and transport infrastructure if Iran failed to make a deal and reopen the Strait by Tuesday. In a follow-up post he gave a more precise deadline: “Tuesday, 8 p.m. Eastern Time!”
Anwar Gargash, an adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, said any settlement must guarantee access through Hormuz. He warned that a deal that failed to rein in Iran’s nuclear programme and its missiles and drones would pave the way for “a more dangerous, more volatile Middle East”.
Fresh aerial strikes were reported across the region on Monday, more than five weeks since the U.S. and Israel began pounding Iran in a war that has killed thousands and damaged economies by sending oil prices surging.
Iranian state media said the Revolutionary Guards’ intelligence chief, Majid Khademi, has died. Israel on Monday claimed responsibility for his death.
A U.S.-Israeli attack hit the data centre at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, damaging infrastructure underpinning the country’s national artificial intelligence platform and thousands of other services, Fars News Agency said on Sunday.
ISRAEL VOWS TO DESTROY IRAN’S INFRASTRUCTURE
Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz in a statement issued on Monday threatened to destroy Iran’s infrastructure and hunt down its leaders “one by one”.
Iran said on Monday two of its petrochemical complexes were attacked.
Emergency and firefighting teams brought a blaze under control at the South Pars complex in Asaluyeh, Iran’s National Petrochemical Company said. No casualties were reported.
The complex’s power supply was cut off after two companies supplying it with electricity, water and oxygen were attacked, Tasnim news agency said.
An Israeli attack in mid-March on the South Pars gas field that Iran shares with Qatar prompted an escalation in the war, with Iran striking energy targets across the Middle East.
A fire at the Marvdasht petrochemical complex was controlled after an attack by the U.S. and Israel, state media said.
Trump has repeatedly warned Iran he could expand U.S. strikes to include civilian infrastructure, such as power plants and bridges.
Experts say such attacks could constitute war crimes, but the International Criminal Court lacks jurisdiction because the countries involved are not members of the court.
The Geneva Conventions say that parties involved in military conflict must distinguish between “civilian objects and military objectives”, and that attacks on civilian objects are forbidden.
IRAN CONTINUES TO FIGHT BACK
Iranian weekend strikes on petrochemical facilities and an Israeli-linked vessel in Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE underscored the country’s ability to fight back despite Trump’s repeated claims to have knocked out its missile and drone capabilities.
About 3,540 people have been killed in Iran in the war, including at least 244 children, said U.S.-based rights group HRANA.
At least four Israelis were killed in a missile attack on a residential building in Haifa in northern Israel overnight, Israeli emergency service MDA said on Monday, bringing the total number of Israeli civilian fatalities from Iranian and Hezbollah attacks to 23.
Israel has also invaded southern Lebanon and struck Beirut in a fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants that has become the most violent spillover of the war on Iran.
Lebanon’s heavy casualties include 1,461 killed, including at least 124 children, Lebanese authorities say.
Thirteen U.S. service members have died and hundreds of others have been wounded.
Reporting by Reuters bureaus worldwide; Writing by Charlie Devereux; Editing by Toby Chopra, William Maclean
