Iran confirmed Wednesday that it had received Washington’s response to Tehran’s latest proposal to end the roughly seven-month war. Officials revealed neither what the response said nor whether the United States had rejected the proposal. Talks continue as both governments use blockades, sanctions and control of shipping as leverage, while people in Iran contend with a currency in free fall.
Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi presented the response to President Masoud Pezeshkian at a Cabinet meeting, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani told the state-run IRNA news agency. “We will make every effort to bring the agreement to fruition and will firmly stand up for the rights of the Iranian people,” Pezeshkian said. “The agreement must now be based on a win-win strategy.” His statement gave no details about the response or what either government might give up.
Bargaining Under Blockade
Qataris briefed Araghchi on the U.S. response Tuesday in Doha, an official briefed on the talks told Reuters. The official said the sides largely agreed on the steps needed but differed over their order. Iranian officials had also met Qatari and Pakistani mediators during the U.N. General Assembly in New York, where indirect talks with U.S. officials took place.
Araghchi said he had proposed reopening the Strait of Hormuz in a week if the United States lifted its blockade of Iranian ports, released frozen Iranian assets and waived sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions. Trump rejected the offer, saying Iran wanted a deal because it was “losing so badly” and that the proposal “would not be acceptable.” Tehran has blocked commercial ships and fired on vessels it accused of unauthorized crossings. Washington imposed a counterblockade to stop Iran from exporting oil. For people facing the consequences, neither side’s pressure campaign is abstract.
Shipping through the strait picked up in recent weeks, but shippers charged high fees amid the threat of attacks. Flows of crude oil, refined products and natural gas remained substantially disrupted. Britain’s UKMTO maritime security body reported Wednesday that unknown projectiles struck three ships the previous day. Before the war, around a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas passed through the strategic shipping lane.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions Tuesday against ten individuals and entities based in Iran, Hong Kong and Pakistan. It accused them of procuring weapons and weapon components for Iran’s Defense Ministry, calling the action part of “Operation Economic Outcast,” intended to sever “critical financial lifelines” for the Iranian government.
Pressure Reaches the Public
Iran’s economy faced heavy strain before the war and plunged after the conflict began in late February. Traders in Tehran exchanged more than 2.5 million rials for one U.S. dollar on Tuesday, a record low. Trump said Iran was “failing very badly, very badly” and predicted the war would be “over with very, very soon.” He’d earlier predicted it would last only weeks; more recently, he said he expected it wouldn’t end until after the Nov. 3 U.S. midterm elections. Polls showed the war was unpopular from the outset. Higher fuel prices and disruption to global energy supplies also hurt Trump’s Republicans ahead of legislative elections five weeks away.
The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps urged Americans to vote out Trump’s allies in a 26-page letter. “Remove from power the evil, deceitful, and violent politicians who are responsible for America’s current state,” it said. The appeal came from an Iranian military institution addressing voters in another country, as Tehran’s own authorities carried out death sentences against two men over involvement in January’s anti-government protests.
IRNA, citing the judiciary, said the men took part in unrest in Mashhad that left four security-force members dead. Iran’s Supreme Court upheld their death sentences, and authorities carried them out Wednesday morning. The protests began amid anger over the collapsing currency and worsening economy. Demonstrators increasingly called for the overthrow of the Islamic Republic as unrest spread. Iranian authorities responded with a deadly crackdown. Rights groups said thousands were killed and tens of thousands arrested; Iranian authorities reported a substantially lower death toll.
Security Without an Exit
In an interview with Maariv, former national security council head Meir Ben-Shabbat warned that pressure on Iran could lead Tehran to consider a direct attack on Israel. He said a future agreement could give the Iranian regime a “lifeline” to finance recovery, and argued that Israel should maintain pressure and prepare for escalation.
Ben-Shabbat also rejected changing Israel’s Gaza war goals. He said Israel must eliminate Hamas’s military and governing capabilities, demilitarize the territory completely and retain “Israeli security control.” His prescription lays out the machinery of continued rule plainly: military force, demilitarization and control over territory. Washington and Tehran may rearrange sanctions and shipping access through negotiations, but regional officials’ statements leave civilians facing the security systems and economic coercion their governments keep in motion.