Iran’s latest proposal revives demands Trump earlier called ‘garbage’

Dubai: Iran’s latest peace proposal to the United States appears to offer little that is new, reviving many of the same demands US President Donald Trump dismissed last week as “garbage” — even as he paused plans for renewed military strikes and signalled fresh optimism about diplomacy.

The proposal, details of which were carried Tuesday by Iranian state media, calls for an end to hostilities across the region, including in Lebanon, the withdrawal of US forces from areas close to Iran, reparations for damage caused by the US-Israeli war, sanctions relief, and the release of frozen Iranian funds.

Tehran is also demanding an end to the US naval blockade imposed on Iran during the conflict and wants guarantees allowing continued peaceful nuclear activity under international supervision.

In Tehran’s first public comments on the latest proposal, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Iran’s conditions also included lifting sanctions and freeing billions of dollars held abroad, according to IRNA news agency.

Publicly rejected

But the broad outlines of the proposal appeared largely unchanged from Tehran’s previous offer — one Trump publicly rejected only days ago.

On Monday, however, Trump revealed he had paused a planned resumption of attacks on Iran after receiving what he described as a new proposal from Tehran.

“There seems to be a very good chance that they can work something out,” Trump told reporters.

“If we can do that without bombing the hell out of them, I would be very happy.”

The comments came amid growing pressure from Gulf leaders and mounting international concern over the continued closure and disruption of the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints.

In a social media post, Trump said the leaders of the UAE, Qatar and Saudi Arabia had urged him to delay fresh attacks because they believed a deal could still be reached.

Under the latest Iranian proposal, Tehran is seeking:

• a complete halt to military operations across all fronts, including Lebanon,

• the withdrawal of US forces from areas near Iran,

• compensation for wartime destruction,

• the lifting of sanctions,

• the release of frozen Iranian assets,

• and an end to the US maritime blockade.

Iran also wants the right to continue some nuclear activity under oversight by the International Atomic Energy Agency.

A Pakistani source confirmed that Pakistan — which hosted rare face-to-face US-Iran talks last month in Islamabad — had passed the Iranian proposal to Washington as part of ongoing mediation efforts.

“The sides keep changing their goalposts,” the source said. “We don’t have much time.”

Conflicting signals

Despite public optimism, conflicting signals continue to emerge from both sides.

An Iranian official suggested Washington may be softening some of its positions, including by considering the release of part of Iran’s frozen overseas funds and showing greater flexibility over limited civilian nuclear activity.

But a US official denied reports that Washington had agreed to suspend oil sanctions during negotiations.

The war, launched by Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in late February, was aimed at crippling Iran’s nuclear and missile capabilities and weakening its network of regional proxy groups.

Although a ceasefire announced in early April has largely held, tensions remain high across the region.

Iran-backed groups have continued launching drones from Iraq toward Gulf states, while shipping through Hormuz remains disrupted amid fears the conflict could reignite at any moment.

Despite weeks of strikes, Iran still retains stockpiles of near-weapons-grade enriched uranium and continues to project influence through allied militias and missile forces across the region.

For now, diplomacy remains alive — but the gap between Washington and Tehran appears as wide as ever.