US Urges Iran to Admit Defeat, Warns of Harsher Follow-Up Attacks
The United States (US) has warned Iran to accept an agreement to end the conflict in the Middle East. The White House has cautioned that President Donald Trump is ready to ‘unleash hell’.
“If Iran fails to accept the current reality, if they fail to understand that they have been militarily defeated and will continue to experience that, President Trump will ensure they are struck harder than before,” said White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, as reported by AFP news agency on Thursday (26/3/2026).
She stated that Trump is prepared to launch follow-up attacks. She also urged Iran to consider the existing agreement.
“President Trump is not bluffing and he is ready to unleash hell. Iran must not miscalculate again,” she said.
The US itself has offered a ceasefire amid the raging conflict. Information about the ceasefire offer was first revealed by the leading US media outlet, The New York Times (NYT), which cited two Washington officials familiar with the outline of the US proposal in its latest report.
The NYT report stated that the US’s 15-point ceasefire proposal has been conveyed to Iranian officials via Pakistan. Islamabad itself is said to have offered to host renewed negotiations between Washington and Tehran.
The contents of the 15-point ceasefire plan have not yet been disclosed in detail to the public.
An Israeli television report from Channel 12, citing three sources, mentioned that the US is seeking a one-month ceasefire to discuss the 15-point plan.
The Israeli media report also stated that the US ceasefire plan includes dismantling Iran’s nuclear programme, halting support for proxy groups, and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
The Iranian government has already responded to the ceasefire offer presented by the administration of US President Donald Trump to end the war that has been raging since late February. Tehran has scoffed at the US efforts to reach a ceasefire agreement.
Spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters in the military, Lieutenant Colonel Ebrahim Zolfaghari, as reported by the Associated Press on Wednesday (25/3/2026), emphasised that the US will 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 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 asserted.