Iran on Wednesday dismissed a U.S. plan to pause the war in the Middle East and launched more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, including an assault that sparked a massive fire at Kuwait International Airport.
Iran’s challenge came as Israel launched airstrikes on Tehran and Washington deployed paratroopers and more Marines to the region.
Iranian state television’s English-language broadcaster Press TV quoted an unnamed official as saying that Iran rejected the US ceasefire proposal. The Press TV report came after Pakistan conveyed the proposal to Iran.
“Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met,” Press TV quoted the official as saying. The official added that Tehran will continue its “strong blows” throughout the Middle East.
Earlier, two Pakistani officials broadly described the 15-point U.S. proposal, saying it addressed sanctions relief, a rollback of Iran’s nuclear program, limits on missiles and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped.
An Egyptian official involved in the mediation efforts said the proposal also includes restrictions on Iran’s support for armed groups. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details that have not yet been made public.
Some of those points were impossible to initiate in negotiations before the war: Iran has insisted that it will not discuss its ballistic missile program or its support for regional militias, which it considers key to its security. And its ability to control passage through the Strait of Hormuz represents one of its greatest strategic advantages.
Iran’s attacks on regional energy infrastructure, along with its cross-strait restrictions, have sent oil prices soaring and sparked fears of a global energy crisis, which in turn has put pressure on the United States to find a way to end the chokehold and calm markets.
More US troops are on the way
At least 1,000 soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division will be sent to the Middle East in the coming days, three people with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.
Paratroopers are trained to jump into hostile or disputed areas to secure key territories and airfields.
The Pentagon is also in the process of sending about 5,000 more Marines, trained in amphibious assaults, and thousands of sailors to the region.
Diplomatic efforts face challenges
The 15-point plan now in Iranian hands is “a comprehensive agreement” to reach a ceasefire, according to the Egyptian official.
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Mediators are pushing for possible in-person talks between Iranians and Americans, perhaps as soon as Friday in Pakistan, Egyptian and Pakistani officials said.
Trump has said that the United States is “in negotiations right now” and that participants included special envoy Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. He has not revealed who they are in contact with from Iran, but said “I can tell you that the other side would like to reach an agreement.”
Press TV, like all hardline-controlled state television channels, offered its own five-point plan from the official who rejected the American proposal.
It included a cessation of assassinations of its officials, means to ensure that another war was not fought against Iran, reparations for the war, an end to hostilities, and Iran’s “exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.”
Those measures, particularly reparations and their continued chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, will likely be unacceptable to the White House as energy supplies around the world remain affected by the war.
Israeli officials, who have been advocating for Trump to continue the war against Iran, were surprised by the presentation of a ceasefire plan, according to a person who was briefed on the contours of the proposal and spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak publicly.
Any talks between the United States and Iran would face monumental challenges. It is unclear who in Iran’s government has the authority to negotiate, or who would be willing to do so, as Israel has vowed to continue killing the country’s leaders.
Iran remains highly suspicious of the United States, which under the Trump administration has attacked twice during high-level diplomatic talks, including the Feb. 28 attacks that started the current war.
“We have a very catastrophic experience with American diplomacy,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told India Today on Tuesday.
Israel launches new attacks
The Israeli military said on Wednesday afternoon that it had completed several waves of airstrikes in Tehran. The military also said that, as part of its attacks the previous day, it had attacked an Iranian submarine development center in Isfahan.
“There have been some days when the shelling is so intense that nothing can be done,” said a 26-year-old graduate student in Tehran, adding that most of his friends stayed home. He spoke on condition of anonymity due to security fears.
Missile warning sirens sounded several times in Israel as Iran launched its own attacks.
Drone and rocket fire by the Iranian-backed militant group Hezbollah continued unabated. Since entering combat, the group has fired rockets into northern Israel 24 hours a day every day, disrupting the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
Iran also kept up pressure on its Arab Gulf neighbors. Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry said it had destroyed at least eight drones in the kingdom’s oil-rich Eastern Province, and missile warning sirens sounded in Bahrain.
Kuwait said it shot down several drones, but the General Civil Aviation Authority said one hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, starting a fire that sent a huge plume of smoke into the sky.
The death toll in Iran has surpassed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said. Israel says 20 people have been killed in the war, including two soldiers in Lebanon. At least 13 US service members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Arab Gulf states.
Authorities say more than 1,000 people have been killed in Lebanon, where Israel has attacked the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group, which has also fired on Israel.
In Iraq, where Iranian-backed militant groups have also entered the conflict, 80 members of the security forces have been killed, said a senior security adviser, Khalid al-Yaqoubi.
Energy prices decline but remain high
The news of possible negotiations lowered the price of oil. Brent crude oil, the international standard, approached $120 a barrel during the conflict but was trading below $100 on Wednesday. It has still increased by about 35 percent since the start of the war.
Reports of efforts to end the fighting also boosted stock markets, with the S&P 500 up just over 1 percent in early trading.
Economists and leaders have warned of far-reaching effects if energy prices remain high, from rising prices for food and other staples to higher rates on mortgages and auto loans.
A big driver of rising oil prices has been Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has allowed a small number of ships through the strait but has said ships from the United States, Israel or countries considered linked to them cannot pass.
When asked in the India Today interview whether Iran was charging ships for passage, Baghaei, the Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson, said “absolutely.” He did not give further details.
