U.S. President Donald Trump said he had "just read the response from Iran's so-called 'delegation'" and found it "not to my liking. Completely unacceptable."
Trump posted the brief message on Truth Social on Monday. Earlier that morning, Iran's state-run IRNA news agency reported that Tehran had delivered its response to the U.S. ceasefire proposal through Pakistan, which is mediating the talks.
On the 6th, U.S. online outlet Axios reported that Washington and Tehran were close to signing a one-page memorandum of understanding (MOU) on ending the war, consisting of 14 items. Once both sides agreed to the MOU, the framework reportedly included intensive nuclear-related negotiations over the following 30 days. Trump told reporters on the 8th that he would "probably receive a letter from Iran tonight," but Iran did not deliver its reply through the mediating country until the 10th.
Tasnim news agency, which has close ties to Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), reported that Iran demanded an end to war on all fronts and the lifting of sanctions against Iran as key conditions for ending the conflict. The outlet said Iran also emphasized the need to end the U.S. naval blockade and lift sanctions on Iranian crude oil for 30 days.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), citing multiple sources, reported that Iran proposed diluting some of its highly enriched uranium and transferring the rest to a third country. Iran also demanded guarantees that the transferred uranium would be returned if negotiations with the U.S. collapsed or if Washington later withdrew from the nuclear agreement. Tehran is willing to halt uranium enrichment but wants a period shorter than the 20-year suspension proposed by the U.S., and has refused to dismantle its nuclear facilities, the WSJ reported. However, Tasnim, citing informed sources, said the WSJ's nuclear-related reporting was not accurate.
With U.S. and Iranian positions remaining parallel even as a U.S.-China summit approaches, the direction of a ceasefire is expected to reach its biggest turning point at the summit between Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping, scheduled for the 14th and 15th in Beijing.
At the same time, observations are growing that the ceasefire situation is becoming precarious. About two hours before posting his reaction to Iran's response, Trump sharply criticized Iran on Truth Social, writing that "Iran has been playing the United States and the rest of the world for 47 years. Delay, delay, delay." He also warned that Iran "has been laughing at our country, which has become great again," adding, "They will not be laughing anymore."
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said in an interview with ABC News that Trump is "giving diplomacy every possible chance before returning to hostilities," while also noting that Trump is definitely prepared to resume attacks on Iran.
Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), a close ally of Trump and an Iran hawk, wrote on X (formerly Twitter): "Given Iran's continued attacks on international shipping and Middle Eastern allies, and its completely unacceptable response to the U.S. diplomatic proposal, it is time to change course." He added that "'Liberation Project Plus' seems very appropriate at this point," a remark interpreted as calling for additional military operations on top of the Liberation Project, which evacuates commercial vessels from the Strait of Hormuz.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a CBS interview on the same day that "the war is not yet over," stressing that more effort is needed to dismantle Iran's nuclear capabilities and eliminate its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.
Global oil prices rose. In the futures market, Brent crude traded as high as $104.8 per barrel, up 3.5% during the session, while West Texas Intermediate (WTI) traded in the $98 range, up 2.7%.
