Iran has responded to a US ceasefire proposal with a sweeping set of counter-demands, insisting on the closure of all US military bases in the Gulf, the lifting of all sanctions, an end to the Israeli campaign against Hezbollah, financial compensation for war damage, and a formal framework granting Tehran the right to collect transit fees from ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz — even as its military publicly mocked the entire negotiating exercise.
The counter-demands came in response to a 15-point ceasefire plan the Trump administration delivered to Iran through Pakistani intermediaries on Monday morning — several hours before Trump publicly revealed that talks were even taking place.
According to the Wall Street Journal, which first reported Iran’s position, “the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has consolidated power within the shattered Iranian regime” and is now the driving force behind the demands.
The US plan, proposed a one-month ceasefire during which both sides would negotiate a broader agreement covering Iran’s nuclear and ballistic missile programs, proxy support, and the Strait of Hormuz.
Related: Trump Says the US and Iran Will ‘Jointly Control’ the Strait of Hormuz
Iran’s response signals it is not negotiating a ceasefire so much as the terms of a new regional order — one in which it extracts permanent economic and strategic concessions in exchange for reopening the waterway that carries roughly 20% of the world’s traded oil.
The backdrop to Tehran’s skepticism is blunt. Iranian officials have told mediators — Pakistan, Egypt, and Turkey — that they have been “tricked twice” by Trump, and “we don’t want to be fooled again,” according to Axios, citing a source with direct knowledge of those discussions.
During both previous rounds of US-Iran talks, Trump green-lit surprise attacks while still publicly claiming to seek a deal — Israel struck Iran last June days before a planned round of nuclear talks, and three weeks ago the US and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury two days after the US and Iran reached a tentative agreement in Geneva to continue negotiations the following week.
The Hormuz fee demand carries a specific and maximalist framing: Iran wants the right to collect transit fees from ships passing through the strait modeled on Egypt’s arrangement with the Suez Canal — effectively claiming sovereign commercial authority over one of the world’s most critical energy chokepoints.
Iran has already been operating what analysts are calling a “Tehran Toll Booth,” charging vessels as much as $2 million per transit. At least 20 ships had used the corridor as of March 23, and Iran’s parliament is reportedly moving to formalize the arrangement with permanent taxes and fees.
Related: Iran now charges up to $2 million for Hormuz passage
On Iran’s missile program, the WSJ’s account is harder than earlier reports suggested: Tehran is demanding it be permitted to keep its missile program with no negotiations to limit it — a direct inversion of one of the US’s core demands.
Separate reports had suggested Iran might freeze missile development for five years, but the WSJ’s primary sourcing presents a more intractable position. Iran may separately commit to halting financial support for Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iraqi militias — though that sits in direct tension with its simultaneous demand that Israel end its campaign against Hezbollah first.
A US official, responding to the WSJ’s reporting on Iran’s demands, called them “ridiculous and unrealistic.”
Trump told reporters Tuesday he believed Iran was close to a deal, claiming Tehran had offered the US a “significant prize” related to the Strait of Hormuz and global oil flows, and that there were “like 15” points of agreement.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry said there was “no dialogue” with Washington, calling Trump’s claims an attempt to manipulate energy markets.
Later, Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for the Iranian military’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, aired a prerecorded statement on state television Wednesday declaring: “Don’t dress up your defeat as an agreement. Your era of empty promises has come to an end.” He added: “Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves?”
Pakistan has offered to host talks in Islamabad, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying his country stands ready to “facilitate meaningful and conclusive talks for a comprehensive settlement.” The US wants in-person talks as soon as Thursday, but even sources advocating for the Islamabad venue expressed skepticism that a meeting would actually take place.
The demands come as Iran separately signaled it would refuse to negotiate with US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, demanding instead that Vice President JD Vance lead any future talks.
Read: Iran Rejects Witkoff and Kushner, Insists Vance Lead Ceasefire Talks
The conflict began with US and Israeli strikes on Iran on February 28, which killed Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
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One Response
Fool me twice….