The United States and Iran weighed a framework plan Monday to end their five-week-old conflict, as Tehran rejected a temporary cease-fire and called for a permanent end to the war while resisting pressure to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
Iran conveyed its response to a U.S. proposal through Pakistan after two weeks of high-level deliberations.
The response, consisting of 10 points, rejects the idea of a temporary cease-fire and emphasizes the need for a lasting end to the war in line with Iran’s conditions.
“We won’t merely accept a ceasefire,” Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, told The Associated Press. “We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again.”
The proposal includes demands such as an end to hostilities in the region, a framework to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, reconstruction, and the lifting of sanctions.
The proposal came after recent developments in western and central parts of Iran, including a reported U.S. heliborne operation.
On the U.S. side, a White House official said a proposed 45-day cease-fire between the United States and Iran is “one of many ideas” currently under discussion.
“The president has not signed off on it. Operation Epic Fury continues,” the official said, according to Axios reporter Barak Ravid.
Ravid added that U.S. President Donald Trump is expected to provide further details during a news conference in Washington at 1700 GMT on Thursday.
