Iran says the United States has responded to its latest proposal for ending the ongoing conflict. US President Donald Trump earlier took a negative stance on the proposal.
Iranian state media on Sunday quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying that the US delivered the response via mediating country Pakistan, and the reply is currently being reviewed.
Iran’s Tasnim news agency, which is linked to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, earlier reported that Iran had presented a 14-point proposal.
The plan reportedly includes guarantees of non-aggression, lifting the maritime blockade and establishing a new mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz.
Trump wrote in a social media post on Saturday that he would soon review the proposal, but “can’t imagine that it would be acceptable.”
Earlier, the president indicated that a military option would not be ruled out.
Asked if the US could restart military strikes, Trump said he did not want to make a comment. He added: “If they misbehave, if they do something bad, but right now, we’ll see. But it’s a possibility that could happen.”
The focus now is on the US response and how Iran will react.
US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a Fox News interview on Sunday that Iran’s oil storage facilities are rapidly filling up and it would have to start shutting its wells possibly in the next week.
Referring to such a possibility due to the US blockade of ships using Iranian ports, Bessent stressed that the US is set to drive Iran’s economy into a corner.
On Sunday, Trump wrote that efforts to evacuate ships stranded in the Strait of Hormuz will start on Monday morning, Middle East time.
Trump named the process “Project Freedom” and is aimed at ships from areas that are not involved in the current situation in the Middle East.
He went on to say, “If, in any way, this humanitarian process is interfered with, that interference will, unfortunately, have to be dealt with forcefully.”