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Iran sets war-ending terms as US truce hangs in the balance: Proposal via Pakistan, explained
With Iran's response delivered, Trump must decide whether to keep talking or follow through on his repeated threats to resume bombing “at a much higher level”.
Iran formally submitted its response to the latest American peace proposal on Sunday evening, handing the document to Pakistani mediators — a move that now puts the fate of a fragile, open-ended ceasefire squarely back in Washington's hands. Drones, naval strikes, and missile intercepts continued across the region through the day, and the past week.
US President Donald Trump anyhow continued with his verbal attacks and warnings on Sunday, saying that the US is directly monitoring Iran's enriched uranium stockpile and will act if anyone approaches it.
“We'll get that at some point. We have it surveilled,” Trump said.
"I did a thing called Space Force, and they are watching that. If anybody got near the place, we will know about it — and we'll blow them up," he further said in a TV interview.
A Situation Room meeting with senior national security officials is expected at the White House on Monday, where the administration will assess Iran's submission and decide next steps.
Where ceasefire stands
The ceasefire itself has no fixed expiry date. The original two-week truce, brokered by Pakistan and announced on April 7-8, was extended by Trump on April 21, with no calendar deadline, on the condition that Iran submit a formal proposal. That condition has now been met.
With Iran's response delivered, Trump must decide whether to keep talking or follow through on his repeated threat to resume bombing "at a much higher level and intensity than before."
Two-pronged proposal
Tehran's counter-proposal, according to Iranian state news agency ISNA, centres on two demands. One, an immediate and permanent end to hostilities. And two, restoration of maritime security in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian officials have been explicit that this phase of negotiations covers only the mechanics of ending the war. The nuclear questions, sanctions relief, and broader regional issues are deliberately deferred to a later stage.
That sequencing now is the core point of friction.
How peace terms evolved
The American 14-point framework requires Iran to halt uranium enrichment for at least 12 years, hand over roughly 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%, and pledge never to develop a nuclear weapon.
Iran has called several of these demands “unreasonable and maximalist”.
Washington fears that agreeing to end the war first would surrender its primary leverage before the most critical nuclear commitments have been secured.
Violence persists at sea
The diplomatic exchange did nothing to slow the military tempo on the ground, or the sea more precisely.
A drone struck a cargo vessel in Qatari territorial waters on Sunday morning, sparking a brief fire onboard. No injuries were reported and the ship continued to Mesaieed Port after the blaze was extinguished. Qatar's foreign ministry described the attack as a “serious escalation”. Its prime minister, Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani, called Iranian foreign minister Abbas Araghchi the same day to warn that using the Strait of Hormuz as “a pressure tool would only deepen the crisis”.
South Korea confirmed that its bulk carrier HMM Namu was struck by an unidentified object on May 4 while anchored near the UAE.
The UAE said its air defences engaged two Iranian drones on Sunday.
Since the war began on February 28, Abu Dhabi has intercepted 551 ballistic missiles, 29 cruise missiles, and 2,265 drones. On Friday, a US Navy F/A-18 struck two Iranian-flagged tankers for violating the naval blockade imposed on April 13.
Pakistan, which has shuttled proposals between the two sides throughout, said it remains in “continuous contact with Iran and the United States, day and night, to stop the war”.
