Iran rejects temporary ceasefire in 10-point response to US proposal

Iran has conveyed its official response to a US proposal to end the war through Pakistan after weeks of high-level deliberations, the government's news agency IRNA reported, saying Tehran rejected a ceasefire and instead called for a permanent end to the conflict on its own terms.

Iran’s response, which consists of ten points, was finalized following what IRNA described as “comprehensive reviews at the highest levels of the system.”

According to the report, Tehran rejected the idea of a temporary ceasefire, citing past experiences, and stressed the need for a lasting resolution to the war that takes into account Iran’s considerations.

The proposal outlines a set of demands, including an end to hostilities across the region, the establishment of protocols to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, reconstruction efforts, and the lifting of sanctions.

IRNA said the response was delivered after developments over the weekend in western and central Iran, which it described as demonstrating Iran’s upper hand in the conflict.

The report also referred to what it called a “catastrophic failure” of a US heliborne operation and said US President Donald Trump had distanced himself from earlier threats by extending a repeated deadline.

IRGC-linked Tasnim published a list of US-linked universities in Qatar, the UAE, Kuwait, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, presenting them as potential targets.

The report said three Iranian universities had been hit since the war began: Iran University of Science and Technology on March 28, Shahid Beheshti University on April 3, and Sharif University of Technology on Monday.

Tasnim then shifted to what it called US “academic assets” near Iran, listing six American branch campuses in Qatar’s Education City, four US-accredited universities in the UAE, New York University Abu Dhabi, the American University of Kuwait, the American University of Bahrain, and the planned Riyadh branch of the University of New Haven in Saudi Arabia.

A senior White House official told NBC News that a proposed 45-day ceasefire in the Iran war was only one of several ideas under discussion and cautioned against treating it as settled.

“It’s one of many things being discussed and POTUS has not signed off on the idea,” the official said.

Trump is scheduled to speak at the White House later in the day.

The Islamic Republic’s embassy in Kabul said it was ready to receive financial donations from Afghan citizens, saying the move came in response to what it described as repeated requests from Afghans to show support during the US-Israeli war on Iran.

The announcement comes amid growing attention over the reported presence inside Iran of Fatemiyoun, the Afghan Shiite militia long tied to the Islamic Republic, as well as Zeynabiyoun and Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces.

Images published in recent days by Iranian state media appeared to show those groups inside Iran, prompting questions online about their role and the reason for their presence.

Israel struck Iran’s largest petrochemical facility in Asaluyeh on Monday, causing severe economic damage and taking a major share of the country’s export capacity offline, Defense Minister Israel Katz said.

Katz said the target was a central facility responsible for about half of Iran’s petrochemical production.

He added that the site was struck after an Israeli attack last week on Iran’s second main petrochemical facility.

According to Katz, the two sites, “which together are responsible for about 85% of Iran’s petrochemical exports, have been taken out of use and are not functioning.”

He said the damage amounted to tens of billions of dollars and described the petrochemical sector as a key source of funding for the Islamic Revolutionary Guards and Iran’s military buildup.

He added that continued attacks on Israeli civilians would bring deeper economic and strategic costs for Iran.