Trump's Ceasefire Offer to Iran Amid Iranian Mockery of the US
US President Donald Trump is reported to have offered a ceasefire plan to Iran. The 15-point ceasefire proposal is said to aim at ending the war in the Middle East. Recently, Iran has been known to mock the US offer.
Citing detikNews, the ceasefire offer was conveyed by Washington to Tehran through Pakistan as an intermediary. This was first revealed by the New York Times (NYT), quoting two US officials familiar with the outline of Washington’s proposal.
In its report, the NYT stated that the US’s 15-point ceasefire offer had been delivered to Iranian officials via Pakistan. Islamabad itself is said to have offered to host renewed negotiations between Washington and Tehran. However, the contents of the 15 points in the proposal have not yet been disclosed in detail to the public.
US envoy Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, through the proposal, suggested a one-month ceasefire. During that period, both sides would negotiate the 15-point agreement.
Channel 12 also reported several key points from the plan, including the dismantling of Iran’s nuclear programme, the cessation of support for proxy groups such as Hezbollah and Hamas, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
On the other hand, it is not yet known whether Israel supports the proposal, and the Israeli Prime Minister’s Office has not provided a response. However, several Israeli officials are said to be surprised by the US move to offer a ceasefire to Iran.
The White House has also not responded to the media reports. Only recently, Trump discussed the possibility of a deal with Iran to end the war that has raged for the past four weeks. On Tuesday (24/3), Trump claimed that the US is attempting to negotiate an end to the war with Iran.
Iran Mocks US Offer
The Iranian government has responded to the ceasefire offer conveyed by the administration of US President Donald Trump to end the war that has been raging since late February. Tehran has mocked the US efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement.
Spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters in the military, Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari, emphasised that the US would only negotiate with itself. That response was delivered by Zolfaghari in a video statement broadcast by Iranian state television on Wednesday (25/3) local time.
“The strategic power you once spoke of has turned into a strategic failure,” said Zolfaghari in his statement directed at the US.
“A country that claims to be a global superpower would surely have exited this chaos if it were truly capable. Do not disguise your defeat as an agreement. The era of your empty promises has ended,” he stressed.
Zolfaghari then hurled mockery at the US by saying: “Has your internal conflict reached the point where you are negotiating with yourself?”
Zolfaghari’s statement was released shortly after the Trump administration sent the 15-point ceasefire plan to Iran via Pakistan as an intermediary.
“Our first and last word remains the same since day one, and it will stay that way: People like us will never make peace with people like you. Not now, never,” he concluded.