US proposal not enough for success, but talks still possible: Iran official

Iran on Thursday said it has reviewed a US proposal via Pakistan, adding that it falls short of the “minimum” requirements for success, Reuters cited a senior official from Tehran as saying. The official, however, indicated that diplomacy remains open if Washington were to adopt a more "realistic" approach.

 

“Iran has reviewed the US proposal that had been conveyed to Iran via Pakistan,” the official told Reuters, adding that the early assessment was not encouraging.

 

According to the official, Tehran believes the framework does not meet the basic conditions needed for progress. “Iran’s initial response… was that the proposal lacks the minimum requirements for success,” the official added.

 

 

Nonetheless, Iran signalled that diplomatic efforts have not been abandoned. “Diplomacy has not stopped, and if realism prevails in Washington, a path forward may still be found,” the official added.

 

However, the official underlined that formal engagement remains distant for now. “There is still no arrangement for negotiations. No plan for talks appears realistic at this stage,” the person was quoted as saying by Reuters.

 

“Turkey and Pakistan are trying to help establish common ground between Iran and the US,” the official added.

 

The Trump administration had sent a proposed ceasefire framework to Iran, reportedly routed through Pakistani intermediaries. While the full details of the plan have not been made public, it is understood to include provisions related to Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programmes.

 

Earlier in the day, US President Donald Trump urged Tehran to move swiftly on the proposal, asserting that Iranian negotiators were privately seeking a deal even as they publicly maintained that they were still reviewing Washington’s offer. He cautioned that failure to act could lead to irreversible consequences.

 

“The Iranian negotiators are very different and ‘strange’. They are ‘begging’ us to make a deal… and yet they publicly state that they are only ‘looking at our proposal’. WRONG!!! They better get serious soon, before it is too late, because once that happens, there is NO TURNING BACK, and it won’t be pretty,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social.

 

The conflict has now stretched into its fourth week with no clear signs of easing. While the US had earlier announced a temporary pause in planned strikes on Iranian infrastructure, Israeli forces have stepped up operations, including intensified attacks on Isfahan and Tehran.

 

Meanwhile, Israel said it had killed Alireza Tangsiri, the head of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy, who was reportedly overseeing operations linked to the Strait of Hormuz blockade.