US dismisses 'unacceptable' Iran demands

Washington has dismissed Tehran's response to its peace proposal as "totally unacceptable", likely complicating talks to end a war that has significantly ruptured the global economy and prompting a rethink on regional security.

"I don't like it — totally unacceptable," United States President Donald Trump said in a social media post on Sunday, without giving further details.

Iran's state broadcaster IRIB reported that the response included the necessity for the US to pay war damages to Iran, the recognition of Iran's sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, the lifting of US sanctions, and the release of Iran's blocked assets by the US.

While more details have yet to emerge from the US side, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has outlined three of Iran's postwar strategic options, according to the Mehr News Agency.

Pezeshkian said Iran faces three distinct paths — entering negotiations with dignity and strength to claim Iranian rights; remaining in a state of neither war nor peace; or continuing on a path of conflict and confrontation.

He framed Iran's openness to diplomacy not as a concession but as a calculated posture, citing the words of Imam Ali in Nahj al-Balaghah — if an enemy calls for peace, one should not reject it, but equally should never become complacent, optimistic or trusting of that enemy after peace is established.

Nahj al-Balaghah is a collection of sermons, letters and sayings attributed to Ali ibn Abi Talib, the fourth Rashidun caliph and the first Shia imam.

"The rational and logical preference, grounded in national interest, is for the victory secured by the Armed Forces on the battlefield to be completed in the diplomatic arena, with the rights of the Iranian people established from a position of dignity and authority," Pezeshkian said.

On Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei defended Tehran's proposals as "reasonable and generous" and blamed the US for insisting on "unreasonable demands", Iran's Tasnim News Agency reported.

Baghaei told reporters that Iran uses both military and diplomatic tools as needed to secure its national interests, without seeking others' approval, adding that the country has participated in the diplomatic processes "with good faith and reason".

The US must prove its seriousness, he said, highlighting its record of breaking commitments. He cited the 2018 withdrawal from the nuclear deal and the US attacks over the past year, while negotiations were underway, Mehr reported.

"We fight whenever necessary and we use the weapon of diplomacy whenever we deem it right," Baghaei said.

War 'not over'

While the US and Iran iron out their differences in reaching a deal, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the Iran war "is not over" in an interview with US media CBS aired on Sunday.

"It's not over, because there's still nuclear material — enriched uranium — that has to be taken out of Iran. There are still enrichment sites that have to be dismantled," he said.

When asked how the uranium could be removed, Netanyahu suggested, "You go in, and you take it out."

Meanwhile, Seoul condemned an attack on a South Korean cargo ship in the Strait of Hormuz, saying it plans to respond once the source of the attack is identified, Reuters reported.

Namu, the vessel operated by the shipper HMM, was not in violation of any rules in effect at the time in the waters off the United Arab Emirates, according to the report.