Tehran sends response to US peace proposal via Pakistan: Iranian state media
Why this matters: local context for readers following news across Pakistan and the region.
Iran has sent its response to a US proposal to end the war in the region via Pakistan, Iranian state media reported on Sunday. “The Islamic Republic of Iran sent today through Pakistani mediators its response to the latest text proposed by the United States to end the war,” the official IRNA news agency said. Iranian news agency ISNA reported that Tehran’s response to the latest US peace proposal focuses on “ending the war and maritime security”. “It should be noted that the main focus of Iran’s response to the US proposal is on ‘ending the war and maritime security’ in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,” the ISNA news agency said, without offering further details. Iran had been reviewing the 14-point proposal from the US for formally ending hostilities and opening a 30-day negotiating window for detailed discussions on Iran’s nuclear programme, sanctions relief and secure transit through the Strait of Hormuz. Tehran has largely blocked non-Iranian shipping through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which before the war carried one-fifth of the world’s oil supply and has emerged as one of the central pressure points in the war. Diplomatic sources earlier confirmed that the proposal had been conveyed to Tehran through Pakistani mediators. With US President Donald Trump due to visit China this week, there has been mounting pressure to draw a line under the war, which has ignited a global energy crisis and poses a growing threat to the world economy. Trump had said on Friday that he was expecting Iran’s response to Washington’s proposal for a deal to extend a fragile truce and launch peace talks — “supposedly tonight”. Earlier, he had also announced the suspension of ‘Project Freedom’, the US naval plan to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing progress in talks and requests from Pakistan and others, while maintaining the broader naval blockade of Iranian ports. Meanwhile, Pakistan had also expressed optimism that the United States and Iran co