With the United States responding to a 14-point peace plan Iran counterproposed to halt escalation, talks on ending the war that had been stuck in limbo for nearly a month are again at a critical juncture.
As U.S. President Donald Trump publicly expressed his intention to reject Iran's proposal, the United States unilaterally previewed an operation to rescue ships trapped in the Strait of Hormuz, keeping military tensions between the two countries at a peak.
According to a roundup of reports by major outlets including Al Jazeera on the 4th, Iran's Foreign Ministry received the U.S. response on the 14-point end-of-war plan through mediator Pakistan the previous day and is reviewing the details. Esmail Baghaei, Spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, appeared on state-run IRIB and said, "We are carefully reviewing the U.S. views conveyed through Pakistan, and once the review is complete, Iran's official position will be announced." The Iranian government drew a line, saying, "This 14-point proposal focused only on reducing the fronts and ending the war within 30 days, and issues some are trying to make contentious—such as Iran's nuclear issue or the removal of mines in the Strait of Hormuz—were never part of the discussion in the first place."
Whether end-of-war talks will resume immediately remains deeply uncertain. In an interview with an Israeli outlet, President Trump said he closely reviewed Iran's new end-of-war proposal but made clear a negative stance, saying it was "unacceptable." Earlier, the two countries held direct end-of-war talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, on the 11th but failed to reach a deal and have since shown major differences.
Through the 14 points, Iran is demanding compensation for war damage, the withdrawal of forces from areas around Iran, a complete lifting of the maritime blockade and sanctions against Iran, and an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon. The United States, by contrast, insists that the sides first agree to end the war and then immediately proceed with major follow-up talks related to Iran abandoning its nuclear program, a gap that has proved hard to narrow.
Amid this, President Trump declared he would personally begin pulling out multinational ships trapped in the Strait of Hormuz starting on the morning of the 4th, stoking fears of a physical clash. In a statement posted on the social network Truth Social, Trump said he had "directed the delegation to do its utmost to safely extract the ships and crews from the strait." He argued the operation is a humanitarian measure to rescue crew members suffering from severe food shortages and warned of the use of force, saying, "Anyone who interferes will be dealt with strongly."