US proposes 15-point plan as Iran sets six ceasefire terms

Ceasefire Talks – (Web Desk) – Pakistan’s diplomatic efforts now seem to be showing results. There are early signs that the Middle East conflict could slow down. Reports say the United States has sent a detailed 15-point plan to Iran to stop the fighting.

According to US media, the plan asks Iran to fully stop uranium enrichment and shut down key nuclear sites in Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow. It also calls on Iran to stop supporting armed groups in the region. Another part of the plan suggests creating a free maritime zone in the Strait of Hormuz to keep shipping safe.

Israeli media reports say the US wants a temporary ceasefire for about one month. This pause could help both sides sit down and talk. Some experts see this as a small but hopeful step toward peace.

On the other side, an Iranian official shared that Tehran has its own six conditions for a ceasefire. Iran wants strong guarantees that the conflict will not start again. It also wants all fighting across the region to end.

Iran has asked for US military bases in the region to be closed. It also wants compensation for damages caused by the war. In addition, Tehran is calling for less US and Israeli influence in the region. It has also suggested new rules for the Strait of Hormuz.

Another demand from Iran is action against what it calls anti-Iran media. It wants such outlets to be removed from the country.

Reports from AFP say US President Donald Trump has sent a peace plan and is hopeful the war can end soon. Iran has also said it will allow non-hostile oil ships to pass through the Strait of Hormuz, which is a key route for global oil supply.

Still, the situation remains tense. There has been fresh violence, including an Iranian missile attack that injured people in Israel. In response, Israel continued its military actions and warned of further moves in southern Lebanon.

President Trump said the US is in talks with Iran, though Iran has not confirmed any official negotiations yet. He also mentioned receiving a major positive signal linked to the Strait of Hormuz, but did not explain in detail.

The Strait has been partly blocked by Iran in response to US and Israeli strikes. This caused oil prices to rise quickly. But after recent updates, global oil prices dropped by nearly six percent.

Trump had earlier warned of strong action if Iran did not reopen the Strait. Later, he gave more time, saying progress was being made through diplomacy.

Pakistan’s prime minister has offered to host talks between the US and Iran. Trump said senior officials, including Vice President JD Vance, are involved in the process.

The US plan reportedly includes stopping Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Some reports say Iran could hand over enriched uranium and stop further production. In return, sanctions on Iran could be lifted, and help may be given for peaceful nuclear energy projects like the Bushehr plant.

However, tensions are still high. Iran has accused Israel of carrying out another strike near Bushehr, a sensitive area close to Gulf countries.

“The sounds, the explosions, the missiles — they are part of our daily life now,” a 35-year-old woman in Tehran told AFP by telephone. “Our one real worry now is that our oil and gas infrastructure isn’t targeted by missile strikes.”

Iran had agreed in 2015 to broad restraints on its contested nuclear program in a deal that Trump ripped up during his first term as he joined Israel in applying pressure to the cleric-run state.

The reported new proposal would keep in place the Islamic republic which weeks earlier ruthlessly crushed mass protests, killing thousands, despite earlier vows of regime change by Trump and especially Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

– Troops en route despite diplomacy –

Despite Trump’s stated hopes for diplomacy, The Wall Street Journal reported that the United States is planning to send 3,000 soldiers from the elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East.

Trump’s envoys were negotiating a nuclear deal with Iran just two days before the United States and Israel launched the massive attack on February 28, killing Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on the first day.

Iranian missiles have found growing success penetrating Israeli defenses, with AFP images showing rubble-strewn streets in the commercial hub Tel Aviv. On Tuesday, more than a dozen people were injured in Israel, including an infant, first responders said.

Israel said it conducted a “large wave” of airstrikes across several areas of Iran. Israeli military spokesman Effie Defrin said his country’s war plan was “unchanged” despite Trump’s remarks and that it would continue “to deepen the damage and remove existential threats”.

Israel has also stepped up its campaign against the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group in Lebanon, saying its military would take control of south Lebanon up to the Litani river, around 30 kilometers (20 miles) from the border.

Israel — which occupied southern Lebanon for nearly two decades until 2000 — carried out new strikes across the country. The Israeli military late Tuesday warned residents of Beirut’s southern suburbs, strongholds of Hezbollah, to evacuate in the face of imminent strikes.

The Israeli campaign has killed at least 1,072 people in Lebanon, with more than one million people displaced, according to authorities. Another nine people died in Israeli strikes in the south, officials said.

Lebanon was pulled into the Middle East war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Khamenei.

Lebanon, whose central government has long been fragile, grew increasingly assertive by announcing it was ordering the Iranian ambassador to leave by Sunday, accusing the Islamic republic of meddling and commanding Hezbollah operations.

Trump retweets Shehbaz Sharif’s offer to host talks

Bahrain, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia all said they had intercepted renewed drone and missile attacks as Iran kept up retaliatory strikes on US-allied Gulf states.

Kuwait reported a fire at its main airport after drones hit a fuel tank.