Iran’s chief negotiator declared Sunday that Tehran would not accept any agreement with the United States unless it fully guarantees Iranian rights. This statement came as reports surfaced that Washington had returned a tougher peace proposal to Iran amid ongoing negotiations.
Any amendments to the proposal risk further delaying a formal accord to end the Middle East war and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, following weeks of tense talks marked by sharp rhetoric and sporadic violence.
According to The New York Times and Axios, President Trump sent a revised framework to Tehran with “tougher” terms, although specifics remain undisclosed.
“We will not approve any agreement until we are certain that the rights of the Iranian people have been upheld,” said Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf in a video broadcast on state television.
Trump has stated his priorities include preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons and reopening the blockaded Hormuz shipping lane.
“The one guarantee that I have to have is that there will be no nuclear weapons. They’ve agreed to that, and it was very interesting,” he told his daughter-in-law, Lara Trump, during a Fox News interview aired Saturday night.
However, Tehran has previously questioned Trump’s claims, and significant gaps remain between the two sides on key issues.
Iran has demanded the release of $12 billion in frozen assets before entering substantive nuclear talks, dismissing Trump’s earlier statements about destroying Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile as “baseless,” according to Iranian media.
Tehran has also insisted on Lebanon’s inclusion in any deal, despite ongoing clashes, with Beirut accusing Israel of a scorched-earth strategy as it intensifies operations against Iran-backed Hezbollah.
While Trump had earlier signaled that a deal was near, he adopted a more cautious tone in the Fox interview, even hinting at possible renewed military action.
“I’m in no hurry,” he said. “If we don’t get what we want, we’re going to end in a different way.”
That sentiment was echoed by Pentagon chief Pete Hegseth, who stated at an Asian defense summit on Saturday that Washington was “more than capable” of resuming hostilities if necessary.
Although daily strikes across Iran and the Gulf paused after Tehran and Washington agreed to a temporary ceasefire in April, sporadic clashes have persisted.
Iran’s state broadcaster IRIB reported that Revolutionary Guards shot down a US military drone “about to enter Iranian territorial waters,” though US officials have not confirmed the incident.
Earlier this week, the most intense fighting since the ceasefire erupted when US forces struck Iran’s port of Bandar Abbas, prompting retaliatory fire from Tehran.
Despite these tensions, diplomatic efforts continue, with Trump under pressure to secure a deal that would lift the rival US and Iranian blockades choking the vital Strait of Hormuz, a crucial passage for global oil shipments.
After Trump claimed Iran would impose “no tolls” on ships passing through the strait under any agreement, Iranian news agency Fars cited sources denying the existence of such a clause.
Meanwhile, ISNA quoted lawmaker Alireza Salimi saying that a plan “to implement Iran’s management and sovereignty” over the strait would soon be presented to parliament.
On Sunday, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz announced that troops had crossed the Litani river and raised the Israeli flag over the medieval Beaufort fortress in southern Lebanon.
Smoke rose from the area as AFP witnessed the Israeli flag atop the castle, which Israel used as a base during its previous two-decade occupation. The advance on Beaufort coincided with a sweeping Israeli evacuation order for areas south of the Zahrani River, north of the Litani, around 40 kilometers from the border, as the military targeted Hezbollah positions.
The Israeli military reported that one soldier was killed the previous day in a Hezbollah drone strike.
Lebanese Prime Minister Nawaf Salam accused Israel of pursuing a “scorched-earth policy and collective punishment,” calling for “a swift and real ceasefire.”
Israel confirmed it was expanding its ground offensive on Sunday, stating that “a significant number” of its forces were operating against Hezbollah beyond the Litani river.
While a truce between Israel and Hezbollah was formally declared on April 17, it has never been observed, with both sides trading blame for violations.
In early March, Tehran-backed Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran’s supreme leader in US-Israeli strikes, prompting near-daily Israeli air raids in Lebanon and a ground incursion.
Israel and Lebanon began direct talks in April, with a fourth round scheduled for the coming week.
—AFP
