Iran received a ceasefire plan from the US but Tehran dismisses idea of
negotiating with Washington
[March 25, 2026]
By JON GAMBRELL, DAVID RISING, MUNIR AHMED and AAMER
MADHANI
DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has received an American
15-point plan for a ceasefire for the Iran war through intermediaries
from Pakistan, officials in Islamabad said Wednesday. The proposal was
sent even as Washington began to move paratroopers to the Middle East to
back up a contingent of Marines already heading to the region.
Iran's military scoffed at the diplomatic efforts and launched more
attacks Wednesday on Israel and the Persian Gulf region, including an
assault that sparked a huge fire at Kuwait International Airport,
sending black smoke billowing into the sky.
The Pakistani officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they
weren't authorized to release details, described the 15-point plan
broadly as touching on sanctions relief, civilian nuclear cooperation, a
rollback of Iran’s nuclear program, monitoring by the International
Atomic Energy Agency, missile limits and access for shipping through the
Strait of Hormuz.
Iran’s attacks on regional energy infrastructure and its chokehold on
the Strait of Hormuz, a strategic waterway through which a fifth of the
world’s oil is shipped, has sent oil prices skyrocketing and rocked
world markets over fears of a global energy crisis.
More US troops on the way even as diplomacy continues
At least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division will be sent to
the Mideast in the coming days, three people with knowledge of the plans
told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity to
discuss sensitive military plans.
The Pentagon is also in the process of deploying two Marine units that
will add about 5,000 Marines and thousands of sailors to the region.
U.S. President Donald Trump has said that American officials are in
negotiations with Iran, though he hasn't said who they are in contact
with. Iran's Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which commands both
the regular military and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, suggested
there are no talks.
“Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you are
negotiating with yourselves?” said Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a
spokesman for the headquarters.
“Our first and last word has been the same from day one, and it will
stay that way: Someone like us will never come to terms with someone
like you,” Zolfaghari said in the video statement aired on state
television. “Not now, not ever.”
Israeli officials, who have been advocating for Trump to continue the
war against Iran, were surprised by the submission of a ceasefire plan,
according to an official briefed on the proposal who spoke on condition
of anonymity because the official was not authorized to speak publicly
about it.
The White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Israel launches new wide-scale strikes on Iran
The Israeli military announced it had begun new wide-scale attacks early
Wednesday on Iran targeting government infrastructure, and witnesses
reported airstrikes in the northwestern city of Qazvin.
Missile alert sirens sounded multiple times in Israel as Iran launched
its own attacks, which have been a daily occurrence since Israel and the
U.S. attacked Iran on Feb. 28 to start the war.
Iran also kept up the pressure on its Gulf Arab neighbors, with Saudi
Arabia's Defense Ministry saying it had destroyed at least eight drones
in the kingdom's oil-rich Eastern Province, and missile alert sirens
sounding in Bahrain.
Kuwait said it shot down multiple drones but one hit a fuel tank at
Kuwait International Airport, sparking a fire, the General Civil
Aviation Authority said. Firefighters were working to contain the blaze.
Brent crude oil, the international standard, has neared US$120 a barrel
during the conflict but was trading at around $100 in morning trading as
talks of a possible ceasefire helped calm prices. That’s still up nearly
40% from the start of the war.
Iran has allowed a small number of ships through the Strait of Hormuz,
which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean, but none from the
U.S., Israel or countries seen as linked with them.
Asked in an interview with India Today on Tuesday whether Iran was
charging ships for passage, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail
Baghaei said “absolutely,” but did not elaborate.
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This satellite image from Planet Labs PBC shows damage after
airstrikes targeting Mehrabad International Airport in Tehran, Iran,
March 7, 2026. (Planet Labs PBC via AP)
Diplomatic efforts calm energy prices but face huge hurdles
The 15-point plan now in Iranian hands is, in essence, “a
comprehensive deal” to reach a ceasefire in the war, according to an
Egyptian official involved in the mediation efforts.
In addition to proposing to fully open the Strait of Hormuz, it also
includes restrictions on Iran’s missile program and its arming of
armed groups, and is being treated as the basis for further
negotiations between the nations, according to the official who
spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the yet-publicized
details of the proposal
Any talks between the United States and Iran would face monumental
challenges. Many of Washington’s shifting objectives, particularly
over Iran’s ballistic missile and nuclear programs, remain difficult
to achieve.
Also, it's not clear who in Iran’s government has the authority to
negotiate — or would be willing to, as Israel has vowed to continue
killing the country’s leaders.
Mediators are pushing for a possible in-person talks between the
Iranians and the Americans, perhaps as soon as Friday in Pakistan,
the Egyptian official and the two Pakistani officials said.
However, that would require the Americans to immediately start
traveling from the U.S. to be there in time. Meanwhile, Iranian
officials likely remain worried about the Israelis, whose airstrikes
in the war have killed many official, including Supreme Leader
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran is also highly suspicious of the U.S., which twice under the
Trump administration has attacked during high-level diplomatic
talks, including with the strikes that started the current war.
“We have a very catastrophic experience with U.S. diplomacy,”
Baghaei told India Today, adding that Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas
Araghchi had been in contact with Pakistani and other regional
diplomats but that “there are no talks or negotiations between Iran
and the United States.”
China, which sent a special envoy early in the war to push for a
diplomatic solution, said Wednesday it supports all efforts to
de-escalate the tensions and start peace talks.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi told Araghchi in a call Tuesday
that all parties should “seize every opportunity and window for
peace” so peace talks can start as soon as possible, Foreign
Ministry spokesperson Lin Jian told reporters Wednesday in Beijing.
Zolfaghari said that the U.S. was in no position to negotiate.
“The strategic power you used to talk about has turned into a
strategic failure,” he said. “The one claiming to be a global
superpower would have already gotten out of this mess if it could.”
Trump has said that special envoy Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law
Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD
Vance are already involved in negotiations.
Lebanese authorities say Israeli strikes have killed more than 1,000
people in Lebanon and displaced more than 1 million.
Iran’s death toll has surpassed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said.
In Israel, 16 people have been killed. At least 13 U.S. military
members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in
the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.
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Madhani reported from Washington, Rising from Bangkok and Ahmed from
Islamabad. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo, Natalie
Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel and E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing
contributed to this report.
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