ISLAMABAD – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday rejected Iran’s latest proposal aimed at ending the ongoing conflict between the two nations, stating he remained “not satisfied” and attributing the impasse to Iran’s “fractured” leadership.
Trump swiftly dismissed the new proposal shortly after its delivery. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency reported that Tehran had presented its plan to mediators in Pakistan on Thursday night. “They want to make a deal, I’m not satisfied with it, so we’ll see what happens,” Trump told reporters at the White House, without detailing his perceived shortcomings of the offer.
A fragile three-week ceasefire between the U.S. and Iran appears to be holding, despite mutual accusations of violations. While the ceasefire has largely quelled direct fighting within Iran, both countries are embroiled in a tense standoff over the Strait of Hormuz. This critical waterway, through which a fifth of the world’s traded oil and gas normally passes, is currently under a U.S. Navy blockade, severely impacting Iran’s economy by preventing its tankers from reaching international waters. The global economy also faces pressure as Iran maintains its strategic control over the strait.
Negotiations have continued via phone after Trump canceled his envoys’ trip to Pakistan last week, the president confirmed. Earlier this week, Trump unveiled a new plan to reopen the vital passageway, crucial for America’s Gulf allies to export their oil and gas.
On Friday, Trump voiced frustration with Iran’s leadership, characterizing it as fragmented. “It’s a very disjointed leadership,” Trump remarked. “They all want to make a deal, but they’re all messed up.”
During a Thursday briefing with Adm. Brad Cooper, head of U.S. Central Command, the president indicated that the U.S. faces only two options regarding Iran. “I mean, do we want to go and just blast the hell out of them and finish them forever? Or do we want to try and make a deal? I mean, those are the options,” Trump explained.
Trump expressed his belief that Iran’s leadership has made some progress toward unifying around a resolution. “They’ve made strides, but I’m not sure if they ever get there,” he said. “There’s tremendous discord, they’re having a tremendous problem getting along with each other in Iran.”
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi engaged in a series of calls on Friday with several regional counterparts, including those from Turkey, Egypt, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Azerbaijan. According to his social media, he briefed them on Iran’s latest initiatives to end the conflict.
European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas also spoke with Araghchi by phone on Friday. Their discussion focused on ongoing diplomatic efforts to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and establish long-term security arrangements, as stated by Kallas’ office. Kallas has also been in contact with the EU’s Gulf partners.
Pakistani officials confirmed that efforts to de-escalate tensions between Iran and the U.S. are ongoing. Masood Khan, Pakistan’s former ambassador to Washington, noted that the continued exchange of proposals suggests that the U.S. and Iran remain committed to finding a diplomatic middle ground. Khan added that these proposals emerge after leaders from both countries exchanged some of their harshest threats, fueling fears of an imminent resumption of military hostilities.
Narges Mohammadi, Iran’s imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was urgently transferred from prison to a hospital in northwestern Iran on Friday following a “catastrophic deterioration” of her health, her foundation reported. The Narges Mohammadi Foundation stated she experienced two episodes of complete loss of consciousness and a severe cardiac crisis, believed to be a heart attack in late March, according to her lawyers. The foundation indicated that the hospital transfer occurred “after 140 days of systematic medical neglect” since her arrest. Mohammadi, 53, a human rights lawyer who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2023 while incarcerated, was arrested in December and sentenced to an additional seven years in prison.
An explosion of unexploded ordnance from previous strikes during the war against Iran killed 14 members of the Revolutionary Guard, IRNA and other Iranian media reported on Friday. A report by the Nournews website, believed to be affiliated with Iran’s security apparatus, stated the explosion occurred near the northern city of Zanjan, northwest of Tehran. This incident marks the largest number of Revolutionary Guard members reported killed since the ceasefire began on April 7. The report specified that the ammunition included cluster bombs and air mines dropped during the fighting.
Since the war commenced on February 28, at least 3,375 people have been killed in Iran, and over 2,600 in Lebanon, where new fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah erupted two days after the war started, authorities reported. Additionally, 24 people have died in Israel and more than 20 in Gulf Arab states. Seventeen Israeli soldiers in Lebanon and 13 U.S. service members across the region have also been killed.
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