Daijiworld Media Network - Tehran
Tehran, May 17: Fresh tensions emerged between Iran and the United States after Iranian media on Sunday claimed Washington had failed to offer any meaningful concessions in its latest response to Tehran’s proposal for negotiations aimed at ending the ongoing conflict.
According to Iran’s Fars News Agency, the US presented a five-point framework that included a demand for Iran to keep only one nuclear facility operational and transfer its stockpile of highly enriched uranium to the United States.
The report also claimed that Washington had refused to release even 25 per cent of Iran’s frozen overseas assets or provide compensation for damages caused during the war that reportedly began on February 28.
Fars further stated that the US had linked the cessation of hostilities across multiple fronts to the beginning of formal negotiations.
Another Iranian outlet, Mehr News Agency, criticised the US position and alleged that Washington was attempting to secure through negotiations what it could not achieve militarily.
“The United States, offering no tangible concessions, wants to obtain concessions that it failed to obtain during the war, which will lead to an impasse in the negotiations,” the report stated.
The strong response from Iranian state media followed Tehran’s recently proposed de-escalation framework, which reportedly called for an end to military operations across all fronts, including Israel’s campaign in Lebanon and the lifting of the US naval blockade on Iranian ports imposed since April 13.
Iran’s proposal also demanded the removal of all US sanctions and the release of Iranian assets frozen abroad under long-standing sanctions, according to statements made by the Iranian foreign ministry last week.
On maritime security, Fars said Tehran insisted that it would continue managing the strategic Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most critical oil shipping routes, which Iran has largely kept closed since the conflict escalated.
Amid the diplomatic deadlock, tensions further escalated after Iranian armed forces spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi warned US President Donald Trump against launching fresh attacks on Iran.
In remarks broadcast on Iranian state television, Shekarchi warned that any renewed military action against Iran would trigger an unprecedented response.
“The desperate American president should know that if his threats are carried out and Islamic Iran is attacked again, his country's resources and military will be confronted with unprecedented, offensive, surprising and tumultuous scenarios,” he said.
The latest developments come amid growing uncertainty over diplomatic efforts to de-escalate the conflict in the region.