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US Sends 15-Point Iran Peace Proposal via Pakistan Amid Middle East Conflict

US Sends 15-Point Iran Peace Proposal via Pakistan Amid Middle East Conflict
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The United States sent Iran a 15‑point proposal to end the Middle East war this week, using Pakistan as a go‑between, even as Iranian missiles continued to strike Israel and U.S. forces prepared for a troop surge into the region bbc +1. President Donald Trump described the contacts as “very good and productive” and claimed Tehran “want[s] to make a deal badly,” while senior Iranian officials publicly dismissed any talks as “fake news” and a bluff cbsnews +1.

The plan, detailed in broad strokes to allies but not published, arrived nearly four weeks into a U.S.-Israeli air campaign that began on February 28 with strikes on Iranian nuclear and missile infrastructure and that has since drawn in regional actors from the Gulf to the Red Sea washingtonpost +1. Pakistan, whose prime minister said his country was “ready and honoured” to host potential talks, has emerged alongside Turkey and Egypt as a key intermediary, highlighting how indirect channels now carry the most sensitive messages between Washington and Tehran cbsnews +1.

What’s in the 15‑Point Plan — and Who’s Really Talking?

According to U.S. and Israeli officials, the proposal demands that Iran surrender its stockpile of highly enriched uranium — estimated at roughly 440–450 kilograms — accept expanded U.N. inspections, curb or halt uranium enrichment, limit its ballistic missile program and scale back support for proxy forces across the region bbc +1. Some Israeli briefings suggested the U.S. told Jerusalem that Iranian interlocutors had signaled willingness to relinquish the enriched uranium, a claim Iran has not confirmed and that remains unverified middleeasteye.

Tehran’s public line has been categorical denial. Parliamentary speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf labeled reports of direct talks “fake news,” while other senior officials insisted no message had been sent to or received from the United States, even via intermediaries militarnyi +1. Yet Western and regional intelligence accounts describe earlier signals from Iranian intelligence to the CIA, passed through a third country, indicating potential openness to discussing an off‑ramp — a sign of the gap between Iran’s battlefield rhetoric and quieter, tentative outreach airandspaceforces.

Allies’ Anxiety and a Dual‑Track U.S. Strategy

The initiative has unsettled Israel, which has borne the brunt of missile salvos from Iran and its allies and is wary of any deal that could freeze the conflict before Tehran’s military and nuclear capabilities are decisively degraded cbsnews +1. Some Israeli officials fear Washington might accept partial concessions — for example, a one‑off uranium shipment and inspection access — in return for a ceasefire that leaves Iran’s missile forces and regional networks largely intact, constraining Israel’s freedom to act later middleeasteye. Defense Minister Israel Katz vowed that “every leader appointed by the Iranian terror regime…will be an unequivocal target for elimination,” underscoring Israel’s preference for continued pressure moderndiplomacy.

For Washington, the calculus mixes military leverage and domestic strain. The Pentagon is preparing to deploy “thousands” more Marines and sailors, and has drawn up options involving elements of the 82nd Airborne Division for extended operations cryptorank. At the same time, Brent crude, which spiked to about $114 a barrel after Iran moved to choke the Strait of Hormuz, has rattled global markets and contributed to Trump’s approval rating sliding to roughly 36 percent in one recent poll cbsnews +1. Officials have framed the plan as testing whether diplomacy under fire can deliver strategic gains and a way out of a war that risks becoming open‑ended.

Looking Ahead

The 15‑point proposal now hangs over a battlefield that shows few signs of slowing, with Iran escalating missile attacks and the U.S. and Israel continuing strikes even as mediators shuttle messages cbsnews +1. Whether Tehran engages substantively — and whether Washington is willing to pause operations to lock in any concessions — will shape not only the trajectory of the 2026 Iran war but also the balance of power across the Gulf, from energy flows to the future of Iran’s nuclear program. For now, conflicting public narratives from Washington and Tehran suggest that even if there is a paper plan for peace, the political will and internal coherence needed on both sides to make it real are still in short supply.