Iran says responded to latest US peace proposal

TEHRAN: Iran said Monday it had responded to a new US proposal aimed at ending the war, adding that exchanges were continuing despite Iranian media reports describing Washington’s demands as excessive.

Washington and Tehran have been swapping proposals in an effort to end the conflict which broke out on February 28. The two sides have held a single round of talks so far amid a fragile ceasefire in place since April 8.

“As we announced yesterday, our concerns were conveyed to the American side,” foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baqaei said during a press briefing Monday, adding that exchanges were “continuing through the Pakistani mediator”, without providing details.

Baqaei defended Iran’s demands including the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad and the lifting of long-standing sanctions.

“The points raised are Iranian demands that have been firmly defended by the Iranian negotiating team in every round of negotiations,” he said.

He also defended an Iranian stipulation that the US pay war reparations, for the “illegal and baseless” conflict.

On the possibility of another military confrontation, Baqaei said Iran was “fully prepared for any eventuality”.

On Sunday, Iran’s Fars news agency said Washington had presented a five-point list, which included a demand for Iran to keep only one nuclear site in operation and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States.

The US had refused to release “even 25 percent” of Iran’s frozen assets or pay any reparations for war damage, according to Fars.

The report said the US had also made clear it would only cease hostilities when Tehran engages in formal peace negotiations.

Iran’s Mehr news agency said, “the United States, offering no tangible concessions, wants to obtain concessions that it failed to obtain during the war, which will lead to an impasse in the negotiations”.

It described the US conditions as “excessive”.

In an earlier proposal, which was sent last week, Iran had called for an end to the war on all fronts, including Israel’s campaign in Lebanon, as well as a halt to a US naval blockade on Iranian ports in place since April 13.

It also called for the lifting of all US sanctions on Iran and the release of its assets frozen abroad.

Fars said that Iranian proposal had emphasised that Tehran would continue to manage the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a vital energy conduit which Iran has largely kept closed since the start of the war.