Iran has publicly dismissed claims by the United States that diplomatic talks to end the ongoing war are underway, with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi stating that Tehran is “not currently negotiating” and “does not intend” to enter negotiations with Washington.
His remarks sharply contradict statements from the office of US President Donald Trump, whose press secretary earlier described discussions as “ongoing” and “productive”.
Araghchi acknowledged that Washington had been transmitting “some ideas” to Iran through intermediaries — a reference widely interpreted as the reported 15-point proposal said to have been passed via mediators.
However, he stopped short of formally accepting or rejecting the reported framework, saying only that “if a position needs to be taken, it will certainly be determined” by Iran’s leadership.
The diplomatic back-and-forth comes amid a war that began on February 28 following coordinated US and Israeli air strikes on Iranian targets, after which Tehran expanded hostilities by striking American allies across the Gulf.
What the US-Backed Proposal Demands
According to details reported by Israel’s Channel 12, the framework presented to Iran centres on security guarantees long cited by Washington and Tel Aviv as the justification for the conflict.
The reported demands include a binding Iranian commitment never to pursue nuclear weapons, dismantling of key nuclear facilities, and transfer of enriched uranium stockpiles to the International Atomic Energy Agency for monitoring.
Iran would also be required to scale back its missile programme in both range and volume, cease funding regional allies including Hezbollah, Hamas and the Houthis, and reopen the Strait of Hormuz as a fully operational international maritime corridor.
In exchange, the proposal reportedly offers a lifting of international sanctions that were reimposed last November after Iran halted nuclear inspections following earlier bombing of its facilities.
Asked about the accuracy of these reported details, Trump’s press secretary said: “The White House never confirmed that full plan. There are elements of truth to it, but some of the stories I read were not entirely factual.”
Iran’s Five Conditions for Ending the War
Shortly before Araghchi’s remarks, Iran’s state broadcaster Press TV cited an unnamed senior political-security official outlining Tehran’s own five conditions for ending hostilities.
Central to Iran’s position is what it calls a complete halt to “aggression and assassinations by the enemy.” Since the conflict began, several top Iranian officials have been killed, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, in an early Israeli strike on Tehran.
Iran is also demanding “concrete mechanisms” to prevent a resumption of war, payment of war damages and reparations, continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz, and an end to Israeli attacks on its regional allies.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has repeatedly vowed to “cut the head of the octopus,” a phrase used by Israeli officials to describe their strategy of targeting Iran’s leadership and its allied networks.
Israel has since intensified operations against Hezbollah and announced it would maintain a widened buffer zone inside Lebanon until attacks on northern Israel cease.
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