Iran and the United States are trading warnings and counter-offers as their post-ceasefire peace talks stall, with Tehran submitting a 14-point proposal and Washington publicly questioning whether any deal is acceptable at all.
The ceasefire, brokered by Pakistan, came into effect on April 8. Only one round of direct talks has taken place since, in Islamabad. Iran's proposal, reported by Tasnim and Fars news agencies, was submitted to Pakistan as mediator. According to Axios, which cited two people briefed on its contents, the plan sets a one-month deadline to negotiate reopening the Strait of Hormuz, ending the US naval blockade of Iranian ports, and permanently ending the war in Iran and Lebanon.
Trump Rejects the Tone; Iran Says the Choice Is His
Trump dismissed the proposal before formally reviewing it. Writing on Truth Social, he said Iran had "not yet paid a big enough price" for what he described as 47 years of harm to humanity, and said he "can't imagine" the plan would be acceptable. The US has not publicly outlined what terms it would accept.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards responded by framing the situation as a binary: Trump must choose between "an impossible military operation" or a "bad deal" with the Islamic Republic. Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi was more measured, telling diplomats in Tehran that Iran was "prepared for both paths", diplomacy or continued confrontation, while saying the decision now rested with Washington.
Military Rhetoric Escalates on Both Sides
Asked what would trigger new US military action, Trump said on Saturday: "If they misbehave, if they do something bad... it's a possibility that could happen, certainly." He did not specify any threshold. Earlier, at a rally in Florida, he compared a US helicopter seizure of an oil tanker under the naval blockade to piracy, calling it "very profitable business."
Mohsen Rezaei, a military adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, responded directly to that framing on X, threatening to sink US aircraft carriers and calling the US "the only pirate in the world that possesses aircraft carriers."
A separate pressure point is Iran's nuclear programme. Axios reported that Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff had asked for it to be put back on the negotiating table. Iran's UN mission rejected that framing, accusing Washington of "hypocritical behaviour" given the size of the US nuclear arsenal.
The Strait of Hormuz is the narrow waterway through which roughly 20% of global oil trade passes, making any prolonged standoff there a direct concern for energy markets. With a one-month deadline in Tehran's proposal and no US counter-offer yet public, the next few weeks will show whether either side is willing to move from posture to negotiation.
Qatar's foreign ministry said mediators including Qatar, Pakistan, and Oman have reached "very progressive stages" in efforts to end the US-Iran war, pushing Brent crude down more than four percent.
Qatar confirmed it is mediating between the US and Iran but said no direct talks are currently planned. The clarification follows conflicting statements from President Trump, who claimed talks are under way, and Tehran, which denied any dialogue is happening.
Saudi Aramco reported sharply higher second-quarter 2026 profits as the Iran war restricts global oil supply and pushes crude prices up. Other oil supermajors also posted outsized earnings, raising concerns about sustained fuel cost pressure for importing economies.
President Trump called current Iran negotiations the "last chance" to end five months of conflict, pushing oil prices higher. Tehran denied formal talks are taking place, raising the risk of a diplomatic breakdown with direct consequences for global energy markets.
