By Parisa Hafezi
DUBAI, March 26 (Reuters) – A U.S. proposal for ending nearly four weeks of fighting is “one-sided and unfair”, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Thursday, while also stressing that diplomacy had not ended despite the lack for now of a realistic plan for peace talks.
The 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 lacks the minimum requirements for success and serves only U.S. and Israeli interests, the senior official said, adding that if realism prevails in Washington, “a path forward may still be found” to resolve the crisis.
Earlier on Thursday, U.S. President Donald Trump warned Tehran to “get serious” about talks to end the conflict that began with U.S. and Israeli strikes against Iran on February 28.
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that Iran was “begging” for a deal, after Iran’s foreign minister said messages conveyed through intermediaries did not amount to dialogue and that Iran had no intention of negotiating at present.
‘THEY BETTER GET SERIOUS SOON’
Calling Iranian negotiators “very different and ‘strange'”, Trump added: “They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty.”
Trump later described the Iranians as “great negotiators” but said he was “not sure he’s willing to make a deal with them to end the war”.
A 15-point U.S. 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, according to sources and reports.
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.
(Reporting by Reuters bureaux; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Gareth Jones)
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