Iran Rejects Ceasefire Proposal, Demands Permanent End to Conflict
Iran has rejected the latest ceasefire proposal and instead called for a permanent end to the war, with guarantees that it will not face further attacks. This comes as US President Donald Trump’s ultimatum looms within hours.
According to reports, Iran conveyed its response through Pakistan, a key mediator in the ongoing conflict. Mojtaba Ferdousi Pour, head of the Iranian diplomatic mission in Cairo, stated, “We won’t merely accept a ceasefire. We only accept an end of the war with guarantees that we won’t be attacked again.”
The White House did not immediately comment on the rejection, but Trump was set to speak to journalists Monday afternoon in his first public appearance since Wednesday. He had remained relatively quiet during the rescue of downed US aviators in Iran.
Trump has threatened Tehran to open the Strait of Hormuz or face attacks on its power plants and bridges. Ferdousi Pour mentioned that Iranian and Omani officials were working on a mechanism for administering the shipping chokepoint.
The rejection of the ceasefire came as Israel struck a key petrochemical plant in the South Pars natural gas field, the world’s largest, and killed two paramilitary Revolutionary Guard commanders. Israel claimed the attack aimed at eliminating a major source of revenue for Iran.
The gas field is critical to electricity production, but the strike appeared to be separate from Trump’s threats to target power plants and bridges if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz to all shipping traffic by Monday night Washington time.
An Israeli attack in mid-March on the South Pars gas field prompted a big escalation in the war, with Iran striking energy targets across the Middle East. Iran’s grip on the strait has caused oil prices to surge and shaken the world economy.
Trump had threatened to rain “hell” on Tehran if it did not make a deal by the end of Tuesday that would allow traffic to start moving again through the vital route for global energy supplies.
Egyptian, Pakistani, and Turkish mediators had sent Iran and the US a proposal calling for a 45-day ceasefire and the reopening of the strait to give time to try and find a way to end the war, according to two Middle East officials. The plan proposed negotiations on a broader peace settlement to be concluded within 15 to 20 days.
Pakistan’s army chief, Field Marshal Asim Munir, was in contact “all night long” with US Vice-President J.D. Vance special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi.
Earlier, Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said details of the response to the ceasefire would be announced in due time, but added negotiations were “incompatible with ultimatums and threats to commit war crimes.”
“Iran does not hesitate to clearly express what it considers its legitimate demands and doing so should not be interpreted as a sign of compromise, but rather as a reflection of its confidence in defending its positions,” Baghaei told a press conference.
He said earlier US demands, such as a 15-point plan, were rejected for being excessive. Earlier on Monday, a senior Iranian official said that Iran will not reopen the Strait as part of a temporary ceasefire, nor would it accept deadlines or pressure to reach a deal.
Washington was not ready for a permanent ceasefire, the official said. US stock index futures inched higher on Monday while oil prices fell over US$2 a barrel as investors assessed the prospect of a ceasefire.
Deal Must Be Made by Tuesday, Says Trump
In a post laden with expletives on his Truth Social platform on Sunday, Trump threatened further strikes on Iranian energy and transport infrastructure if Iran failed to make a deal and reopen the Strait of Hormuz by Tuesday.
Later on Sunday, the president in a follow-up post gave a more precise deadline: “Tuesday, 8.00pm Eastern Time! (Wednesday 0000 GMT)”
Anwar Gargash, an adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said any settlement must guarantee access through Hormuz. He warned that a deal that failed to rein in Iran’s nuclear programme and its missiles and drones would pave the way for “a more dangerous, more volatile Middle East.”
Fresh aerial strikes were reported across the region on Monday, more than five weeks since the US and Israel began pounding Iran in a war that has killed thousands and damaged economies by boosting oil prices.
Israel and the US have carried out assassinations of Iran’s leaders since the war’s start on February 28, killing several senior members of its ruling system, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was replaced by his son, Mojtaba.
Israel’s Defence Minister Israel Katz in a statement on Monday threatened to destroy Iran’s infrastructure and hunt down its leaders “one by one.”
A US-Israeli attack hit the data centre at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, damaging infrastructure underpinning the country’s national artificial intelligence platform and thousands of other services, Fars News Agency said on Sunday.
The International Atomic Energy Agency on Monday confirmed military strikes close to Iran’s Bushehr nuclear power plant, but said that the plant itself was not damaged. Trump has repeatedly warned Iran he could expand US strikes to include civilian infrastructure, such as power plants and bridges.
Experts say such attacks could constitute war crimes, but the International Criminal Court lacks jurisdiction because the countries involved are not members of the court.
The Geneva Conventions say that parties involved in military conflict must distinguish between “civilian objects and military objectives,” and that attacks on civilian objects are forbidden.
Iranian weekend strikes on petrochemical facilities and an Israeli-linked vessel in Kuwait, Bahrain, and the UAE underscored the country’s ability to fight back despite Trump’s repeated claims to have knocked out its missile and drone capabilities.
Iran has responded to US and Israeli attacks by effectively closing Hormuz, a conduit for about a fifth of the world’s oil and natural gas supply, and attacking Israel, US military bases, and energy infrastructure around the Gulf.
About 3,540 people have been killed in Iran in the war, including at least 244 children, said US-based rights group HRANA.
At least four Israelis were killed in a missile attack on a residential building in Haifa in northern Israel overnight, Israeli emergency service MDA said on Monday, bringing the total number of Israeli civilian fatalities from Iranian and Hezbollah attacks to 23.
Israel has also invaded southern Lebanon and struck Beirut in a fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants that has become the most violent spillover of the war on Iran.
Lebanon’s heavy casualties include 1,461 killed, including at least 124 children, Lebanese authorities say. Thirteen US service members have died and hundreds have been wounded.
‘Emboldening Aggression’?
Meanwhile, inaction by the UN nuclear watchdog “emboldens aggression” against nuclear facilities such as the Bushehr power plant, said Mohammad Eslami, Iran’s atomic energy chief, on Monday in a letter addressed to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s director.
Eslami said Iran’s only functioning nuclear power plant had been targeted four times, with the most recent attack in its vicinity on April 4, killing a security staff member and injuring others.
He warned that such attacks could risk the release of radioactive material from an operating reactor and could have “irreparable consequences” for people, the environment, and neighboring countries.
He described the attacks as a clear breach of international law and criticized what he called the agency’s “lack of decisive action,” saying mere expressions of concern were insufficient and would embolden further attacks.
