Iran Sends Fresh Negotiating Proposal to US via Pakistan as Military Threats Persist, Oil Prices Dip
Iran has forwarded a new negotiating proposal to the United States through Pakistan, Tehran’s state media reported on Friday. “The Islamic Republic of Iran delivered the text of its latest negotiating proposal to Pakistan, as the mediator in talks with the United States, on Thursday evening,” the official IRNA news agency stated. No further details about the contents of the proposal were disclosed by IRNA.
Global oil prices fell following the report, even as the broader energy situation remains strained. The Strait of Hormuz blockade has cut off approximately 20 percent of the world’s oil and gas supplies, with the US Navy simultaneously blocking exports of Iranian crude oil a combination that has pushed energy prices higher and raised concerns about an economic slowdown.
Military Pressure Continues Despite Ceasefire
A ceasefire is currently in place, but reports indicate that US President Donald Trump has been briefed on plans for fresh military strikes aimed at pressuring Iran back to the negotiating table. Iran, for its part, has activated its air defences and is preparing a broad response if attacked. Two senior Iranian sources, speaking anonymously to Reuters, said Tehran has assessed that any US strike would be short and intensive, potentially followed by an Israeli attack.
Tehran Says It Never Left the Table
Iran’s Chief Justice Gholam-Hossein Mohseni-Ejei pushed back against any suggestion that Iran had withdrawn from diplomatic engagement. “We do not welcome war, but we are not afraid of it,” he said, according to IRIB news agency. “If our dignity is threatened, we will fight for our dignity; this is the firm position of our nation.”
Mohseni-Ejei maintained that Iran has consistently supported dialogue, but said any negotiations must be “based on logic and rationality.” He also rejected what he characterised as coercive tactics at the negotiating table. “We certainly do not accept imposition. An enemy that has not achieved any of its goals and objectives through aggression and threats cannot be imposing or demanding at the negotiating table either,” he said. The Chief Justice also indicated that Iran intends to pursue legal action against the United States.