TEHRAN, May 18– Iran has handed over its newest 14-point proposed plan for ending the war with the United States to mediator Pakistan, the semi-official Tasnim news agency reported on Monday.
Pakistan will convey the plan to the United States, the report said, citing a source close to Iran’s negotiating team. The new proposal was submitted after Tehran revised its earlier 14-point draft in response to a recent U.S. proposal, the source added.
According to the source, Iran’s new draft focuses on negotiations to end the war, as well as on the U.S. “trust-building” measures.
In a separate report on Monday, Tasnim quoted another source close to the Iranian negotiating team as saying that, unlike previous U.S. drafts, Washington has agreed in its latest proposal to waive Iran’s oil sanctions during the negotiation period.
Tasnim said Iran insists that the removal of all sanctions must be among the U.S. commitments. The United States, however, has proposed suspending sanctions imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control until a final agreement is reached, it said.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said on Monday that it is not correct to chant slogans against holding negotiations. “We negotiate with dignity and will never back down,” according to a statement published on the website of his office.
Speaking at a meeting in Tehran, Pezeshkian said Iran was capable of defending its rights. “We must speak logically and receive answers. Speaking logically and receiving answers is not possible with slogans, but through action. It is a discussion that must be continued,” he said.
Iran, the United States and Israel reached a ceasefire on April 8 after 40 days of fighting that started with U.S. and Israeli attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities on Feb. 28.
Following the truce, Iranian and U.S. delegations held one round of peace talks in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad on April 11 and 12, which failed to yield an agreement.
Over the past weeks, the two sides have reportedly exchanged several proposed plans outlining conditions for ending the conflict through Pakistan. (Namibia Daily News / Xinhua)
