Iran-USA, the war of proposals: Tehran’s 14-point plan and Trump’s skepticism
Diplomacy between Washington and Tehran is proceeding through written notes delivered via Pakistan, in the midst of an armed conflict that began on February 28 with American and Israeli airstrikes on Iran and the assassination of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei. The April 7 ceasefire, negotiated in extremis through the Pakistani mediator, has so far failed to produce a definitive agreement, and the Strait of Hormuz remains a powder keg even after the launch of the latest American mission in Iran: “Project Freedom.”
Iran has presented a 14-point response to the American proposal, requesting that all issues be resolved and the war concluded within 30 days, rather than observing the two-month truce proposed by the United States.
The plan is divided into three phases: in the first, the ceasefire would be stabilized and transformed into an end to the conflict, with the opening of the Strait of Hormuz and the lifting of the American naval blockade on Iranian ports; in the second, negotiations would begin on a temporary freeze of uranium enrichment for up to 15 years, after which Tehran could resume enrichment up to 3.6%; in the third phase, a regional security system would be built with Arab countries.
A plan that, as is known, also includes the payment of war reparations, the withdrawal of American forces from the region, and the end of Israeli operations in Lebanon.
The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry, Esmail Baghaei, confirmed that the American counter-proposal arrived via Pakistan and is currently under review, defining the American requests as “excessive and unreasonable” and emphasizing that Iran refuses any negotiation under ultimatum. Trump, for his part, has oscillated between openness and closure within a few hours: he first wrote on Truth Social that he could not imagine the Iranian proposal being acceptable because Tehran “has not yet paid a sufficient price for what it has done to humanity over the last 47 years.”
Meanwhile, the average price of gasoline in the United States has risen from $2.98 per gallon before the war to $4.46, and Trump’s trip to Beijing scheduled for next week makes a return to hostilities increasingly costly: appearing before Xi Jinping with the war still ongoing and the Strait of Hormuz closed would reduce the American position at the Sino-American trade negotiation table.
Photo ©2026 World Economic Forum / Benedikt von Loebell/weforum.org
