WEST PALM BEACH, Florida/DUBAI, May 3 - Iran said on Sunday it had received a response from the United States to Tehran's latest 14-point plan for talks, with state media reporting Washington relayed its reply through Pakistan. Iranian officials said they are now studying the U.S. response, but there was no immediate confirmation from either Washington or Islamabad.
State media cited a statement from the Foreign Ministry in which spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei was quoted as saying: "At this stage, we do not have nuclear negotiations." The wording appears to refer to a central element of Iran's pitch - an offer to delay talks on nuclear matters until after an agreement is reached to end the war and lift opposing blockades of Gulf shipping.
President Donald Trump publicly signaled skepticism about the proposal a day earlier, saying on social media that he would probably reject the Iranian plan because, in his words, "they have not paid a big enough price for what they have done to Humanity, and the World, over the last 47 years." Trump also indicated on Saturday that he had not yet reviewed the precise text of the Iranian submission.
Officials from the United States and Iran have held limited contact since the bombing campaign was suspended four weeks ago. U.S. and Israeli forces paused strikes at that time, and U.S. and Iranian officials conducted one round of talks. Efforts to arrange further meetings have not succeeded so far.
Iran delivered its latest document on Thursday. A senior Iranian official, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss confidential diplomacy, said Tehran envisions ending hostilities and resolving the shipping impasse first, while postponing detailed negotiations over its nuclear programme to a later stage.
The anonymous official described the proposal as a maneuver intended to facilitate an agreement by moving the more complex nuclear issue to the end of a phased process. "Under this framework, negotiations over the more complicated nuclear issue have been moved to the final stage to create a more conducive atmosphere," the official said.
The Iranian plan as reported by domestic media includes a range of demands and actions: withdrawing U.S. forces from nearby areas, lifting the blockade on shipping, releasing frozen assets, providing compensation, lifting sanctions, ending the war on all fronts including Lebanon, and establishing a new control mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has been blocking nearly all shipping from the Gulf other than its own for more than two months; the United States imposed its own blockade of ships from Iranian ports last month.
Washington has repeatedly insisted that Iran accept strict limitations on its nuclear programme before an end to the war can be secured. Among the specific demands cited by U.S. officials is for Tehran to give up its stockpile of more than 400 kg (900 pounds) of highly enriched uranium, which the United States has said could be used to make a bomb. Iran maintains its programme is peaceful but has signaled willingness to discuss certain curbs in return for sanctions relief, similar to the arrangements it accepted under a 2015 deal that President Trump later abandoned.
Trump told reporters on Saturday that White House aides had outlined the broad concept of the Iranian proposal and that he was expecting the exact wording. "They told me about the concept of the deal. They’re going to give me the exact wording now," he said. When asked if he might order a resumption of strikes on Iran, he replied: "I don’t want to say that. I mean, I can’t tell that to a reporter. If they misbehave, if they do something bad, right now we’ll see. But it’s a possibility that could happen."
The impasse over the Strait of Hormuz has significant market implications. Iran's actions have choked off about 20% of the world’s oil and gas supplies, contributing to higher gasoline prices in the United States. President Trump has faced domestic political pressure to break Iran's hold on the strait, with the Republican Party sensitive to voter concerns about rising energy costs ahead of midterm congressional elections in November.
Beyond the Gulf shipping dispute, the situation in Lebanon is directly tied to prospects for resuming talks. Iran has said negotiations with Washington cannot move forward unless a ceasefire also takes hold in Lebanon. The conflict there has been running alongside the Iran war, with Israel mounting operations in March to attack Hezbollah after the Iranian-backed Lebanese group fired across the border in support of Tehran.
Last month Lebanon and Israel reached a separate truce, but low-level clashes continued. On Sunday, Israel ordered thousands of Lebanese residents to evacuate villages in southern Lebanon. The Israeli military issued an urgent warning to residents of 11 towns and villages in Lebanon's south, urging them to move at least 1,000 metres (3,300 feet) to open areas. The military said it was conducting operations against Hezbollah following what it described as a violation of the truce and warned that anyone near Hezbollah fighters or facilities could be at risk.
With both sides publicly setting conditions that appear in tension - Tehran's wish to postpone nuclear negotiations until after a cessation of hostilities and Washington's demand for immediate and verifiable curbs on Iran's nuclear programme - the diplomatic pathway remains narrow. Tehran's reported 14-point proposal seeks broad concessions in parallel: an end to blockades, withdrawals, sanctions relief, compensation, and a new mechanism to manage passage through the strategic strait. The United States, in contrast, has emphasized curbs on nuclear material holdings and activities as prerequisites.
At this stage, there is limited independent verification of the exact contents of the U.S. reply reportedly sent via Pakistan. Iranian state media said the response was under review in Tehran, while neither Washington nor Islamabad had immediately confirmed any transmission. The lack of public acknowledgment from the other governments adds uncertainty about whether the two sides will progress to further rounds of talks.
The coming days are likely to determine whether the two capitals can convert this exchange of texts into a process for talks, whether the proposed sequencing of issues can be reconciled, and whether peripheral conflicts such as the fighting in Lebanon can be brought under control to create the conditions Iran says it requires for substantive negotiations.