The “non-negotiations” negotiations with Iran continue. The US believes it is in talks with the rogue nation, engaging with appropriate leadership empowered to speak on behalf of the Tehran government. According to what remains of the Iranian government, passing messages back and forth through Pakistan as a mediator is not substantive talks. Nevertheless, on March 24, the US provided Iranian emissaries with what is described as a “comprehensive deal.” The full text of the 15-point framework has not been released, but reporting has provided the gist of what was proposed.
US Provides Iran With a Ceasefire Plan
In a prime-time speech on April 1, President Donald Trump explained the consequences for Iran should it fail to enter talks with the intention of bringing the conflict to an end. The conclusion the US aims to achieve is Iran’s acceptance of at least some variation of the 15-point framework that outlines the US objectives. According to Fox News, “The US government’s 15-point proposal, sent through Pakistan, calls for removing Iran’s stocks of highly enriched uranium, stopping enrichment, ending its ballistic missile program and slashing funding for regional allies.” More detailed reporting explains that the US plan includes Iran giving up its inventory of enriched uranium, particularly the stocks of nearly 900 pounds of near-weapons-grade material. The Trump administration’s proposal also requires Iran to close its nuclear development and open its nuclear research to more International Atomic Energy Agency scrutiny.
A key objective of the US air attacks is for Iran to stop its development of intermediate- and long-range missiles. The US wants significant limits on Iran’s ballistic missile research and production efforts, specifically on range and quantity, and limited to self-defense only. Among the other elements of the plan are the cessation of funding to proxy militias in the region. Additionally, a key condition in the framework is the complete opening of the Strait of Hormuz, with a guarantee that the threats to maritime transit through the strait will end. “The Strait of Hormuz, according to N12’s sources, would be declared a free maritime zone and remain open under the potential deal,” The Jerusalem Post reported. With over 150 of Iran’s and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ navies destroyed, Iran has lost much of its capability to hold the Strait of Hormuz at risk.
Despite Iran’s capability to defend itself all but destroyed and its insistence that it is not in negotiations with the US, what is left of the Tehran leadership says that it rejects the US proposal and has offered a counterproposal. According to the Associated Press, “Iran issued its own plan via state TV, which includes a halt to killings of its officials, means to make sure no other war is waged against it, reparations for the war, the end of hostilities and Iran’s ‘exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.’” In an effort to give the impression that it has leverage in the “non-negotiations,” Iran is making pronouncements from some delusional notion of a position of strength. What it proposes seems silly, and if Tehran continues to hold such a position, the consequences will likely be dire. As President Trump explained in his speech, the US has left key energy infrastructure untouched; however:
“If there is no deal, we are going to hit each and every one of their electric generating plants very hard and probably simultaneously. We have not hit their oil, even though that’s the easiest target of all, because it would not give them even a small chance of survival or rebuilding. But we could hit it, and it would be gone. And there’s not a thing they could do about it. They have no anti-aircraft equipment. Their radar is 100% annihilated. We are unstoppable as a military force.”
The president went on to say that the US has “all the cards. They have none,” he said, adding that it would be in Iran’s best interest to get serious about talks to conclude the current conflict. First, it would be realistic to stop denying that negotiations are happening. In a recent Pentagon press conference, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth told reporters, “I can tell you, having been with Steve and Jared and the vice president, Marco, and many others yesterday, [the negotiations] are very real, they are ongoing, they’re active, and I think gaining strength, and we appreciate that.”
It’s Time Tehran Comes to the Negotiating Table – Seriously
Meanwhile, as Iran dithers, Israeli and US warplanes continue to decimate what is left of Iran’s nuclear development facilities and destroy its remaining ballistic-missile transporter erector launchers, production sites, and warehoused inventory. Iran no longer has an operational navy, and its air force, such as it was, is gone. Testing President Trump’s patience has proven to be a bad idea.
As Trump posted on Truth Social, “Iran’s New Regime President, much less Radicalized and far more intelligent than his predecessors, has just asked the United States of America for a CEASEFIRE! We will consider when [the] Hormuz Strait is open, free, and clear. Until then, we are blasting Iran into oblivion or, as they say, back to the Stone Ages!!!” If there is to be any viable remnant left of what Iran was, its remaining leadership must realize its plight. Perhaps it’s time to talk with the US as though Iran’s existence is at stake – because it is.
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