Report: Iran Rejected Ceasefire Proposal Conveyed by Iraqi Prime Minister
Iran has rejected a ceasefire proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump, delivered to Tehran by the Prime Minister of Iraq. The failed mediation attempt comes amid ongoing threats from Washington to strike vital Iranian infrastructure.
Iran rejected yesterday (Thursday) a ceasefire proposal from President Donald Trump, which was conveyed to Tehran by the Prime Minister of Iraq, according to Iranian and Iraqi sources who spoke with The New York Times. The failed mediation attempt occurred while Donald Trump threatened to escalate the war and attack vital infrastructure in Iran.
The sources, who requested to remain anonymous because they were discussing sensitive security issues, said that the trip of Iraqi Prime Minister Ali al-Zaidi to Iran took place after his recent visit to Donald Trump at the White House.
The details of the ceasefire proposal were not immediately clear. However, Iranian sources stated that this was the only proposal placed on the table, and that their government is not interested in a temporary arrangement that leaves the question of control over the Strait of Hormuz unresolved.
Al-Zaidi traveled to Tehran at the head of a delegation of Iraqi officials and met with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, with the head of the Iranian negotiating team Brigadier General Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, and with Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, according to reports in local media. Araghchi told state television that Iran and Iraq, which share a common border, have common economic, political, and security interests and close ties, and that the visit was of importance in light of the current circumstances in the region.
According to Araghchi, al-Zaidi shared with the Iranians his "views and impressions" from his visit to Washington, but Tehran and Washington already have enough intermediaries.
"The problem is not the transmission of messages," he said. "The problem is the view of the United States, which is illogical, greedy, and domineering."
Iran and the United States have steadily escalated the tension between them in recent weeks. American forces bombed military bases and infrastructure, including railways, airports, bridges, and seaports. Iran, for its part, launched ballistic missiles and UAVs toward American military targets in the Middle East.
Two Iranian sources said that the country's armed forces are preparing for the possibility that the war will expand if Donald Trump carries out his threats to attack the capital Tehran and vital infrastructure. In such a case, the sources said, Iran will expand the fighting throughout the region, including by attacking Tel Aviv and asking its Houthi allies to close the Bab al-Mandab, a strategic waterway in the Red Sea.
On Thursday, at Azadi Square in Tehran, where regime supporters hold nightly rallies in favor of the war, a military vehicle was displayed with Iranian-made ballistic missiles pointed toward the sky.
