Iran has dismissed a US ceasefire proposal and instead put forward its own five-point counter-plan, state media reported on Wednesday. An anonymous Iranian official stated that Tehran would “end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met”, and would continue fighting until then.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi confirmed the proposals had been “passed on to the country’s senior authorities” but said Iran had “no intention of negotiating for now”. Despite this, US President Donald Trump insisted at a Washington fundraiser that Iran still wanted a deal, saying they were “afraid to say it because they figure they’ll be killed by their own people”.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi held calls with his Turkish and Egyptian counterparts, urging dialogue and noting that with both the US and Iran signalling willingness to negotiate, “a glimmer of hope for peace has emerged”. Meanwhile, Israel’s military said it had carried out a wave of strikes across Iran, including in the central city of Isfahan.
Kuwait announced the arrest of six people over an alleged Hezbollah plot to assassinate leaders in the Gulf state, with five of those arrested being Kuwaiti citizens. The US military reported it had hit over 10,000 targets so far in the Iran war, destroying 92% of the Iranian navy’s largest vessels and damaging over two-thirds of Iran’s missile, drone and naval production facilities.
Iran’s five-point plan includes an end to the fighting and the assassination of its officials, guarantees no other war is started against it, reparations for the current conflict, and Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz. The White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt, said discussions were continuing and productive, with the US sticking to its four- to six-week timeframe for ending the war.
