Iran Submits New Proposal to Pakistan for US Talks Amid West Asia Conflict

According to the Iranian state media IRNA news agency, Tehran handed over the text of its new proposal to Pakistan, which is acting as a mediator in talks with the United States, on Thursday evening.

This comes after US President Donald Trump on Monday indicated that he is inclined to reject the most recent diplomatic overture from Tehran aimed at halting current hostilities, according to a report by CNN.

The Iranian proposal suggests the restoration of maritime traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, while deferring critical concerns regarding its nuclear programme to future discussions.

Sources familiar with the situation told CNN that Trump expressed his reservations during a high-level briefing with national security aides on Monday.

One source noted that Trump is "not likely to accept the plan," which was formally delivered to Washington within the last few days.

Administrative officials have expressed concern that reopening the vital waterway without addressing Iranian nuclear enrichment or its "stockpile of near-bomb-grade uranium" would effectively eliminate a significant source of American diplomatic pressure.

However, CNN reported that maintaining the blockade poses its own risks, as the continued closure of the strait is expected to sustain the inflated energy prices that have led to a sharp rise in American fuel costs.

Meanwhile, the latest round of peace talks, which should have been held in Islamabad between Washington and Tehran, was cancelled after the Iranian delegation, led by its Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, departed Islamabad on Saturday evening after a day of high-level meetings with the Pakistani leadership, leaving Pakistan's ambitious claims of brokering a US-Iran peace deal as part of the second round of negotiations in tatters.

As reported by Al Jazeera, the delegation left the Pakistani capital after delivering an "official list of demands" to Pakistani leaders for the US and Israel in order to achieve a complete solution to the conflict in West Asia.

Following this, Trump said he has cancelled the scheduled visit of the US delegation, led by Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Senior Adviser and his son-in-law Jared Kushner, for talks aimed at achieving a comprehensive resolution to hostilities in West Asia.

The diplomatic theatre of last week mirrored the failures of the past, when the first round of talks hosted in Islamabad - featuring US Vice President JD Vance and Iranian Parliamentary Speaker MB Ghalibaf - dragged on for a gruelling 21 hours without yielding a single breakthrough.

- ANI