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Iran’s chief negotiator has warned that the US must accept Tehran’s new 14-point peace proposal or “American taxpayers will pay for it.”
Some shit you should know before you dig in: Right now, the US and Iran are locked in serious negotiations over a possible permanent end to the war that kicked off on February 28, 2026 when the US and Israel launched a joint military campaign against Iran (operation codenamed “Epic Fury”). A fragile ceasefire was reached on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but the US ceasefire goals (keeping Iran from acquiring a nuke, dismantling its missile arsenal, and setting the stage for Iranians to oust the regime) have not been met. The US has maintained a naval blockade of Iranian ports since April 13, and Iran has continued its de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz (a critical chokepoint through which roughly one-fifth of global oil and gas flows during peacetime). Last week, the US submitted a 14-point peace proposal to Iran that required Tehran to freeze all uranium enrichment for a minimum of 12 years, hand over its estimated 440-kilogram stockpile of uranium enriched to 60% (weapons-grade is 90%), and reopen the Strait of Hormuz within 30 days in exchange for the US gradually lifting sanctions, releasing frozen Iranian assets, and withdrawing its naval blockade. Iran responded over the weekend with its own counterproposal, which Trump rejected late Sunday, calling it “totally unacceptable.”
What’s going on now: Iran’s chief negotiator and Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf doubled down on Tehran’s position Monday with a series of pointed posts on X warning the US that the longer it delays, the more expensive the standoff will get. He wrote, “There is no alternative but to accept the rights of the Iranian people as laid out in the 14-point proposal. Any other approach will be completely inconclusive; nothing but one failure after another. The longer they drag their feet, the more American taxpayers will pay for it.”
Ghalibaf, an ex-IRGC official and prominent voice in the Iranian regime, also signaled that Iran is prepared for renewed conflict if talks collapse. “Mistaken strategy and mistaken decisions will always lead to mistaken results. The whole world has already figured this out. We are prepared for all options; they will be surprised.”
Iran’s response includes demands for an end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, a pullback of US troops from Iran’s borders, the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen Iranian assets, reparations payments, an end to the US naval blockade, and a new mechanism governing the Strait of Hormuz that affirms Iranian sovereignty. On the nuclear question, sources familiar with the proposal told the Wall Street Journal that Iran offered to dilute some of its highly enriched uranium and transfer the rest to an unspecified third country, and pause enrichment for a shorter window than the [12 or 20?]-year freeze the US wanted. Iran rejected dismantling its nuclear facilities outright.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei pushed back on the idea that Iran’s response was unreasonable. “Demanding an end to the war, lifting the blockade and piracy, and releasing Iranian assets that have been unjustly frozen in banks due to US pressure. Safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz and establishing security in the region and Lebanon were other demands of Iran, which are considered a generous and responsible offer for regional security.”
This all comes as Trump escalated his rhetoric on Monday, telling reporters at the White House that the current ceasefire is “unbelievably weak” and likening it to a dying patient with “a 1% chance of survival.” He added, “After reading that trash they sent us, I’ll call this the weakest moment. I didn’t even finish reading it. It’s a stupid proposal, and no one will accept it.”
Trump also said that if he revives the operation, it would “only be a piece” of a larger military operation. Separately, Channel 12 cited two senior US officials who said Trump is weighing fresh military strikes on Iran, with one official quoted saying, “Trump is going to hit them a bit.”
