Iran said the demands listed in the US peace proposal are “excessive and unreasonable,” adding that both sides have only communicated through intermediaries so far. The country’s foreign ministry spokesperson also said that mediation efforts by Pakistan are their “own thing” and Tehran did not take part in them.
Tehran’s latest statement comes against the backdrop of Pakistan hosting delegations from Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Egypt in Islamabad in an effort to de-escalate the West Asia conflict. Last week, Pakistan had forwarded US President Donald Trump’s 15-point peace proposal to Iran, which the latter rejected. Tehran instead placed five conditions to end the war.
“I wonder how many people in America take the claims of American diplomacy seriously! Our task is clear, unlike the other side, which keeps changing its position,” Esmaeil Baqaei said, according to Al Jazeera, which cited semi-official Tasnim agency.
“Iran has been clear about its position from the beginning, and we know very well what the framework is that we are considering. The material conveyed to us has been excessive and unreasonable requests,” he added.
Iran denies Pakistan’s mediation claims
“The meetings that Pakistan has are a framework that they established themselves and we did not participate in. It is good for the countries of the region to be concerned about ending the war, but they should be careful about which side started the war,” the Iranian spokesperson said.
In one of his latest comments, Trump on Sunday (local time) said that Washington has been in contact with Tehran, “directly and indirectly”. Speaking aboard the Air Force One, the Republican leader said new leadership in Iran has been “very reasonable.”
However, in an interview with Financial Times on the same day, Trump said he could possibly seize Kharg Island – which handles 90 per cent of Tehran’s Kharg Island – a move that would involve US ground troops. “Maybe we take Kharg Island, maybe we don’t. We have a lot of options,” the US President said.
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Tehran has choked off about a fifth of global energy supplies with its blockade of the Strait of Hormuz since the war began with the US-Israeli assault on February 28. Trump has been pressing Iran to reopen the Strait, while Tehran has been selective in letting vessels through.
Washington has been building up forces in the Gulf, amid recurring reports of a potential US ground assault to take over Kharg Island. The US Department of Defense had recently sought $200 billion in additional funds for the war from Congress.
The Islamic Republic has signalled its awareness of these developments and has resorted to psychological warfare to weaken morale, as global fuel prices soar and US deals with strained relations with NATO allies over the conflict.
On Saturday, the front page of The Tehran Times read: “Welcome to Hell.” It added that “US troops who set foot on Iranian soil will leave only in a coffin.”
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On Sunday, Iran identified two US Navy officers and accused them of ordering the strikes on a school in Minab on February 28 that killed around 168 people. According to an NYT report, the US Centcom had used outdated data that showed that the building was part of an Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps base nearby.
Last month, a fire on board the USS Gerald R Ford aircraft carrier forced the vessel to move away from its active deployment. The Telegraph reported a possible sabotage, which the navy is currently probing.
On Sunday, Iran’s parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, who has been among the most vocal critics of Washington in the establishment in recent days, said, Tehran is “waiting for the arrival of American troops on the ground to set them on fire and punish their regional partners forever.”
“As long as the Americans seek Iran’s surrender, our response is that we will never accept humiliation,” he added.
