Iran says made 'legitimate' demands in peace proposal rejected by Trump as 'totally unacceptable'

Iran on Monday asserted that it made “legitimate” demands in its latest formal response to the United States’ peace proposal, after US President Donald Trump rejected the reply as “totally unacceptable”. Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said Tehran had called for an end to the war across the region, the lifting of the US blockade of Iranian ports, and the release of frozen assets abroad in its response. “We did not demand any concessions. The only thing we demanded was Iran’s legitimate rights,” said Baghaei in a weekly press briefing. He said Iran’s demands included “an end to the war in the region”, lifting the US blockade and “piracy”, and the “release of assets belonging to the Iranian people, which have for years been unjustly trapped in foreign banks”. “Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and establishing security in the region and Lebanon were other demands of Iran, which are considered a generous and responsible offer for regional security.” Baqaei said Washington continued to uphold “unreasonable” and one-sided demands. According to remarks reported by Iran’s semi-official Tasnim News Agency, the Iranian official cautioned that any intervention in the affairs of the Strait of Hormuz will further “complicate” the matter, stressing that the issue was the “aggressive actions” of the US and Israel. “We have conveyed this very clearly to European countries that they should not allow the temptations of the United States and the Zionist regime in regional issues to cause them to be unintentionally drawn into a crisis that will not benefit them,” Iran’s semi-official outlet ISNA quoted Baqaei as saying. The Iranian official, according to ISNA, affirmed that Pakistan remained the mediator in US-Iran negotiations. “The mediator in the negotiations is still Pakistan, and Islamabad will continue its activities in this regard as an official mediator. Other countries, including Qatar, also have relations with both sides and have ideas and opinions that