Iran dismisses US ceasefire proposal as 'excessive'

Iran has reviewed a United States-proposed 15-point plan on ending the Middle East war, and sees it as "excessive", media outlets reported on Wednesday, citing Iran's state-run Press TV. Iran will continue its military operations until its own conditions are met, and will end the war "at a time of its own choosing", the reports added.

The development came after Washington reportedly delivered a 15-point proposal for a monthlong ceasefire deal to Iran, via intermediaries from Pakistan.

Pakistani sources described the proposal broadly as touching on sanctions relief, civilian nuclear cooperation, a rollback of Iran's nuclear program, monitoring by the International Atomic Energy Agency, missile limits and access for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

Pakistan has offered to host negotiations between Washington and Tehran. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country "welcomes and fully supports ongoing efforts to pursue dialogue to end the war in the Middle East".

He added that Pakistan stands ready and honored to be the host to facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement of the ongoing conflict.

A spokesperson from Iran's Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters earlier denied any developments. The spokesperson mocked Washington's attempt to pass off what he said was the US' military "defeat" against Iran as an "agreement", Tasnim news agency reported. He stressed that Iran "will never come to terms with an aggressor".

"Our first and last word has been, is, and will always be: Someone like us will not come to terms with someone like you. Not now, and not ever," the spokesperson added.

Al Jazeera had earlier reported that there was confusion in Iran about who the US was negotiating with as US President Donald Trump touted "progress" in talks.

Abdulwahed Jalal Nori, a lecturer at the International Islamic University Malaysia's Department of Fundamental and Inter-Disciplinary Studies and author of the book State-building under Foreign Occupation: The Case of Iraq 2003-2008, said there appeared to be a deeper structural problem — the absence of a clearly unified Iranian negotiating channel.

Meanwhile, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan ​Fidan discussed the ‌war in Iran and efforts to ‌end the conflict in a phone call with his Chinese ‌counterpart Wang ‌Yi, a Turkish diplomatic source said on Wednesday.

The ministers "emphasized ‌the need for an immediate end to the ​war", the ‌source said, adding they stressed ‌as "critically important" ​maintaining the uninterrupted operation of transport lines, as well as energy and ‌supply chains.

In another development, Rafael Grossi, the IAEA's director-general, on Tuesday reiterated his call for maximum restraint following a fresh attack on Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant, even as German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier slammed the US for starting the war, calling it "a politically disastrous mistake".

Abdulwahed of Malaysia said Steinmeier's criticism reflected a widening transatlantic divergence.

"European actors appear increasingly concerned that military-first approaches are undermining diplomatic channels, while also exposing Europe to secondary economic and security fallout. But such criticism, while politically significant, has limited impact unless it translates into coordinated diplomatic pressure or mediation efforts," he said.

Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said in a post on X that any reasonable assessment of the facts "leads to the clear conclusion that the United States and Iran have a strong shared interest in ending this war right now".

Meanwhile, Qatar's former prime minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani said in a post on X that in the region's history, and amid reports of ongoing talks between the US and Iran, he wished to emphasize that the Gulf Cooperation Council states "cannot be absent from any table where the contours of the regional future are being drawn".

"The security of this region is not a secondary matter, nor a file to be discussed on our behalf; rather, it is the essence of our stability and existence," Al Thani said.

He said the crisis "was imposed upon us without consultation" and that the GCC states "have borne its economic and strategic repercussions".