Dubai, Mar 25 (AP): Iran received a 15-point proposal from the US to reach a ceasefire in the war, two Pakistani officials said Wednesday.
The Pakistani officials described the proposal broadly as touching on sanctions relief, civilian nuclear cooperation, a rollback of Iran's nuclear programme, monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency, missile limits and access for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, the narrow mouth of the Persian Gulf.
The Trump administration reportedly offered the plan to Iran as the US appears to seek an end to the war even while more troops head to the Middle East.
The plan was submitted to Iran by intermediaries from the government of Pakistan, which has offered to host renewed negotiations between Washington and Tehran, a person briefed on the plan's contours but who was not authorised to speak publicly told The Associated Press on Tuesday.
The US military is preparing to deploy at least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East in the coming days, according to three people with knowledge of the move who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.
Any talks between the US and Iran would face monumental challenges. Many of Washington's shifting objectives, particularly over Iran's ballistic missile and nuclear programs, remain difficult to achieve, and it is not clear who in Iran's government has the authority or would be willing to negotiate.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi's office said he has been discussing the war this week with several counterparts, but Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf, the speaker of Iran's Parliament, denied Trump's claim of direct talks and an Iranian military spokesperson declared that the fighting would go on.
Alluding to progress in talks, US President Donald Trump claimed Iran shared an oil- and gas-related "present," a day after telling reporters that the Middle Eastern nation is eager for a deal to end the war.
(AP)
This report was published from a syndicated wire feed. Apart from the headline, the EdexLive Desk has not edited the copy.