Iran’s chief negotiator Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf said on 12 May that the United States has no choice but to accept Tehran’s latest counter-offer to end the war.
“There is no alternative but to accept the rights of the Iranian people as outlined in the 14 – point proposal,” Qalibaf, who is also the speaker of the Iranian parliament, wrote on social network X.
He argued that any other approach would be fruitless and bring “nothing but one failure after another.”
“The longer they delay, the more the American taxpayers will pay for it,” the Iranian spokesman added.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqai said at his weekly press conference on 11 May that Tehran’s response, made public through Pakistani mediation on 10 May, included ending the war, lifting the US blockade of the Strait of Hormuz, releasing Iran’s assets and “establishing security in the region and Lebanon”.
Iran’s response to the US was reported on 10 May, the same day evening Trump called it unacceptable.
On 28 February, the US and Israel began strikes on Iran, the goal was called primarily the destruction of Tehran’s nuclear programme. In early April, the parties agreed on a ceasefire, now it is in force without any fixed date for its end, but the parties have not yet reached a peace agreement, and the Strait of Hormuz, important for the global energy market, remains blocked – ships pass through it very rarely, fearing Iranian attacks.