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Tehran has delivered a blunt rebuff to Washington’s latest ceasefire proposal, with Iranian officials dismissing the terms as "excessive" and insisting that the timeline for ending the conflict will not be dictated by US President Donald Trump. According to reports, the government on Wednesday has reviewed the American plan to pause hostilities in the Middle East but found the conditions entirely unacceptable. A senior official speaking to Reuters echoed this sentiment, describing Tehran’s initial reaction as "not positive," even as the document remains under formal review.

 

The crux of Iran’s defiance lies in its refusal to allow the United States to set the tempo of the war’s conclusion. "We will not allow Trump to dictate the timing," a senior figure stated, asserting that the Islamic Republic will only agree to a halt in hostilities once its own specific demands are met in full. Chief among these is a demand for international recognition of Iran’s "natural and legal right" to sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz—the world’s most critical oil chokepoint.

 

Aside from this, the other demands from the Iranian side include the determination of responsibility for the damages inflicted during the recent attacks, as well as the provision for financial compensation. Also included in the list of demands are the provisions for the non-occurrence of a war between the two sides, as well as the provision for peace to include the cessation of hostilities against all the resistance groups in the region and not just Iran. Until these stipulations are addressed, Tehran warns that its defensive operations will continue unabated.

 

This diplomatic standoff comes at an increasingly volatile moment, with the US proposal arriving just as Washington reportedly deploys further paratroopers and Marines to the region. Although the American plan was presented as a path to a "pause" in the war, the fact that Iran is demanding a war only on their terms implies that a breakthrough is still a long way off. The message from Tehran for now is one of a determination to fight on rather than a lopsided peace.

 

Also read: Negotiating with yourselves: Iran on Trump's ceasefire remark