Iran rejects U.S. proposal, sets out conditions to end war

Iran rejects a U.S. ceasefire proposal, outlining five conditions for peace amid ongoing conflict with Israel.

Iran on Wednesday (March 25, 2026) dismissed a U.S. proposal to end the war and set out its own terms for peace, even as it continued trading fire with Israel.

The U.S. proposal offered a ceasefire and sanctions relief in return for Tehran abandoning its nuclear programme and reopening the Strait of Hormuz. According to state-run Press TV, Iran has laid down five conditions to end the war, which the U.S. and Israel launched on February 28 with the assassination of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and several other leaders. Tehran is seeking: “a complete halt to aggression and assassinations; “concrete mechanisms” to prevent future attacks; payment of war damages and reparations; an end to fighting on “all fronts”; and recognition of its “exercise of sovereignty” over the Strait of Hormuz, which it calls its “natural and legal right”.

Iran-Israel war updates on March 25, 2026

“Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met,” a senior security official said, according to Press TV. The official, who is not named in the report, said Washington has put forward proposals through various diplomatic channels that are “excessive” and “disconnected from reality” on the battlefield.

The Associated Press earlier cited two Pakistani officials as saying that Islamabad had delivered the U.S. plan to Tehran. The proposal addresses sanctions relief, a rollback of Iran’s nuclear programme, limits on its missile programme, reopening the Strait of Hormuz and restrictions on Iran’s support for non-state militias in West Asia such as Hezbollah and Hamas, said the officials.

U.S. President Donald Trump, who on Monday (March 23, 2026) backed off from an earlier threat to attack Iran’s power infrastructure claiming that Washington and Tehran were in talks, said on Tuesday (March 24, 20260 at the Oval Office that Iran had given him “a very big present worth a tremendous amount of money”, adding that “we are dealing with the right people”. Without elaborating on the “present”, Mr. Trump, who had earlier claimed the U.S. had “productive talks” with Iran, said: I think we’re going to end [the war].”