Iran has submitted its official reply to the latest United States proposal for a deal that allows a permanent end to the US-Israeli war of aggression against the country.
Iran’s official IRNA news agency reported on Sunday that the country has submitted its reply to Pakistan, which has mediated efforts aimed at ending the war of aggression.
Iran insists that current negotiations between it and the US should solely focus on efforts to end the war, and other issues, including disputes surrounding Iran’s nuclear programme, should be discussed at later stages of the talks.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry announced earlier last week that the country would submit its final response to the US proposal after carrying out deliberations and thorough examinations.
The US proposal had come in response to a 14-article plan submitted by Iran to allow a complete halt to the US-Israeli war of aggression.
The latest Iranian reply is focused on efforts to end the aggression on all fronts, including Israeli attacks on Lebanon, and to guarantee the security of shipping in the Persian Gulf.
Iran and the US held an intensive day of negotiations on April 11-12 in Islamabad, four days after Pakistan mediated a ceasefire to halt the US-Israeli aggression on Iran that had started in late February.
The talks collapsed over US maximalist demands, Iranian officials said.
A key sticking point in the current negotiations between Iran and the US is the restoration of shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, a key waterway in the Persian Gulf, which has come under Iranian control since the early days of the aggression.
Iran has indicated it is ready to reopen the Strait if the aggression ends permanently and the US lifts its illegal sanctions and blockade on the country.
Authorities in Tehran have said that a first phase of efforts to reach a deal must concentrate on shipping and sanctions, while signalling they are ready to discuss the country’s nuclear programme in later stages of the talks with the US.
Meanwhile, Iranian Army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia, in an interview with the IRNA news agency on Sunday just a few days after the failure of the United States’ military campaign aimed at forcibly reopening the strategic waterway warned:
‘From now on, the countries that comply with the US in imposing sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran will definitely face difficulties in passing through the Strait of Hormuz.’
Iran shut down the Strait to enemies and their allies following the launch on February 28 of the unprovoked US-Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic.
It began exercising far stricter controls last month after US President Donald Trump announced an illegal blockade of Iranian vessels and ports in violation of the terms of the Pakistan-brokered ceasefire that took effect on April 8th.
Last Monday, the US launched the so-called ‘Project Freedom’ supposedly aimed at forcibly reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
On Wednesday, however, Trump was forced to stop the military manoeuvre in the face of Iran’s steadfast resilience against American piracy and threats to maritime security.
Akraminia said the Americans had tried to break Iran’s control of the Strait of Hormuz by escorting destroyers and ships, but they encountered the Iranian armed forces, whose strong resistance forced Trump to abandon his military campaign just 24 hours after its launch.
‘This war allowed us to use the geopolitical potential of the Strait of Hormuz, and today we have exercised our sovereignty over the Strait based on the law of the sea and waterways,’ Akraminia added.
He also emphasised that Iran has managed to enforce a new legal and security system in the Strait of Hormuz, requiring every vessel passing through the strategic waterway to coordinate with the country.
Furthermore, the Army spokesman went on, the enemy did not achieve any of its pre-determined objectives and was defeated in the recent illegal war.
The 40-day aggression failed to disrupt the political balance of Iran’s Islamic establishment, but rather strengthened national unity and solidarity, he asserted.
Akraminia also warned that other ‘surprising options’ await the enemy if it makes a new miscalculation and attacks Iran again.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has declared that any negotiation with the United States is neither surrender nor retreat, but rather a determined effort to secure the nation’s rights and unequivocally defend national interests.
Pezeshkian vowed that Iran would never back down from its legitimate rights.
‘We will never bow before the enemy,’ the Iranian president said.
‘If there is any talk of dialogue or negotiation, it does not mean surrender or backing down, but rather the goal is to secure the rights of the Iranian nation and powerfully defend national interests,’ he emphasised.
The comment came shortly after state media reported that Iran has officially submitted its response to the latest US proposal to end the war of aggression against the country, which began on February 28 with airstrikes that assassinated Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
The response makes it clear that any negotiations between Iran and the US should solely focus on efforts to end the war at this stage, and that other issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme, should be discussed later on.
The security of shipping in the Persian Gulf is another matter presented in Iran’s response which was delivered to Pakistan on Sunday – Islamabad also brokered the April 8th ceasefire.
Negotiations ensued in the Pakistan capital but stopped short of an agreement due to Washington’s maximalist demands and insistence on unreasonable positions.
Since then, Iran has categorically refused to rejoin the process unless the US lifts the illegal blockade it has imposed on Iranian vessels and ports.
Tehran has also asserted that, as long as the blockade is still in place, it has no intention of reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
In addition to launching 100 waves of retaliatory operations against US and Israeli assets in the region, Iran also closed the Strait of Hormuz to shipping associated with the aggressors and their allies, sending oil prices soaring.
A senior Iranian parliamentary spokesman has warned that any further aggression against Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf will trigger a ‘heavy and decisive’ response targeting US ships and military bases across the region.
Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesman for the Iranian parliament’s Foreign Policy and National Security Committee, said in a post on X on Sunday that Washington is rapidly exhausting its options through continued provocations in the Persian Gulf.
‘As of today, our restraint is over,’ he declared.
‘Any aggression against our vessels will be met with a heavy and decisive Iranian response against American vessels and bases.’
He added: ‘The clock is ticking against the Americans’ interests; it is to their benefit not to act foolishly and sink themselves deeper into the quagmire they have fallen into.’
Rezaei said the best course for the United States is to ‘surrender and concede concessions.
‘You must get used to the new regional order,’ the lawmaker added.
Rezaei’s remarks came after a stern warning from the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Navy regarding Washington’s threats against Iranian oil tankers and commercial shipping.
In a statement, the IRGC Navy Command said that any attack on Iranian vessels in the Persian Gulf, or beyond, would prompt a direct and forceful military response against American military centres and enemy ships throughout the region.
The IRGC reiterated that Iran remains committed to safeguarding its maritime interests and ensuring the secure passage of its commercial fleet through the Strait of Hormuz.
According to Iranian military sources, IRGC naval units launched retaliatory operations using anti-ship ballistic missiles, cruise missiles, and combat drones, inflicting significant damage on US military assets and forcing American destroyers to retreat from the area.
Iran’s Army spokesman Brigadier General Mohammad Akraminia also warned that any new aggression against Iran would be answered with a ‘surprise’ involving new weapons, new methods of warfare, and new battlefronts.
