Iran’s Tasnim News Agency claimed on Monday that Tehran has prepared a 14-point ceasefire proposal and given it to Pakistani intermediaries to present to the United States.
Tasnim quoted a “source close to the Iranian negotiating team” who claimed the American team “had recently sent a text in response to Iran’s previous proposal, which was also presented in 14 points.”
“Iran, in line with the recent practice of exchanging messages, has once again submitted its text in 14 points through the Pakistani mediator after making amendments,” the source said.
Tasnim’s source did not specify how the new 14-point plan differed from the apparently unsatisfactory 14-point plan Tehran had previously offered.
The new plan is ostensibly focused on “negotiations to end the war and confidence-building measures by the American side,” which is not encouraging, as it suggests the Iranians are still making demands instead of offering concessions.
Another Tasnim report on Monday quoted a “source close to the Iranian negotiating team” — possibly the same one as the earlier article — who claimed the U.S. has accepted Iran’s “new proposal to waive Iran’s oil sanctions during the negotiating period.”
“Iran insists that the removal of all sanctions against the country must be part of the US commitments. The United States, however, has proposed a waiver of OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) sanctions until a final understanding is reached,” Tasnim said.
U.S. officials have not confirmed that any offer to waive Iran’s oil sanctions was made, but the rumor from Tasnim was enough to push oil prices down a little on Monday morning.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, whose actual power and influence over Iran’s negotiating position is unclear, said on Monday that it was “not logical to say that we will not negotiate.”
“They chant that we shouldn’t engage in dialogue — what should we do if we don’t talk? Fight until the bitter end? It’s not logical to say we won’t engage in dialogue; we engage in dialogue with dignity,” he said.
“We are capable of defending the nation’s rights with the backing of the people. We must speak logically and receive logical responses,” he said.
President Donald Trump did not seem to be in any mood for making unilateral oil concessions to Iran on Sunday afternoon.
“For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE!” he wrote on Truth Social.
On Monday morning, Trump wrote another Truth Social post laying out tough conditions for Iran to meet, including Iran surrendering, signing “documents of surrender,” and publicly admitting “their Navy is gone and resting at the bottom of the sea, and their Air Force is no longer with us” — while the rest of the Iranian military “walks out of Tehran, weapons dropped and hands held high, each shouting ‘I surrender, I surrender’ while wildly waving the representative White Flag.”