Trump Says He'll Review Iran's Peace Plan Despite Skepticism

Donald Trump said he would soon examine a peace proposal that Iran had just delivered to Washington, even as he cast doubt on whether it could ever satisfy American demands. The statement came in the early morning hours on his Truth Social account, where he acknowledged receiving the Iranian plan but immediately signaled his skepticism. "I will review the plan Iran has just sent us shortly, but I cannot imagine it will be acceptable, given that they have not yet paid a sufficient price for what they have done to humanity and the world over the past 47 years," he wrote. The message was also distributed through official White House and State Department accounts on X.

Hours earlier, Trump had told reporters boarding Air Force One in Florida that he would indeed look at the proposal. "They explained the concept of the agreement to me. They will give me the exact text now," he said, according to CNN. The back-and-forth suggested a negotiation in motion, however tentative, even as the president maintained his position that Iran's initial terms fell short of what the United States required.

Iran's response was pointed. The country's military intelligence apparatus declared on social media that Trump faced a constrained choice: either pursue an "impossible" military operation or accept what it characterized as a "bad deal" with the Islamic Republic. "The decision-making margin of the United States has narrowed," the Iranian Guard's intelligence wing stated. The message carried an implicit threat—that time and circumstances were working against Washington's position, and that the window for negotiation was closing.

The Iranian proposal itself was substantial. Delivered through a Pakistani intermediary, it consisted of 14 points and represented Tehran's response to a nine-point American framework. Where the United States had proposed a two-month ceasefire, Iran insisted that outstanding issues be resolved within 30 days and that negotiations focus not on extending a temporary truce but on achieving a permanent end to the war. The Iranian list included demands for military non-aggression guarantees, withdrawal of American forces from Iran's vicinity, lifting of the naval blockade, release of frozen Iranian assets, war reparations, removal of sanctions, and cessation of hostilities across all theaters, including Lebanon. It also called for a new mechanism governing the Strait of Hormuz, a critical waterway that has been a flashpoint in the conflict.

Trump's public posture throughout the week had been one of dissatisfaction. "They want to reach a deal. I am not satisfied with it, so we will see what happens," he said on Friday from the White House. Yet he had also sent mixed signals, noting that his administration maintained phone conversations with Iranian counterparts while simultaneously questioning who actually held decision-making authority in Tehran, given that the Iranian leadership had been decimated or was in hiding following 40 days of intensive military operations that had paused on April 8.

The ceasefire itself remained fragile and incomplete. It had held without a reopening of the Strait of Hormuz—a closure that primarily harmed Washington's regional allies and gave Iran significant leverage. Iran now waited for an official American response to its 14-point proposal, having set an unspecified deadline for the United States to lift the naval blockade. The negotiation had reached a critical juncture: Trump had committed to reviewing the plan, but his skepticism was plain, and Iran's demands suggested a fundamental gap between what each side was willing to concede.