A sharp contradiction between American and Iranian accounts of diplomatic progress dominated the news Wednesday, as Tehran publicly rejected the US ceasefire proposal while President Trump insisted Iran was quietly seeking a deal. Iran’s foreign minister said his country had no current intention to negotiate, while Iranian state media cited officials declaring that Tehran alone would decide when and how the fighting stops. Trump, addressing supporters at a Washington fundraiser, dismissed these statements as political theater driven by fear.
The US had submitted a detailed ceasefire plan through Pakistani intermediaries, reportedly including conditions related to Iran’s nuclear weapons ambitions, missile programme restrictions, and the status of the Strait of Hormuz. The plan was described by Iranian officials as unreasonably one-sided. Tehran responded with its own five-point framework demanding an end to attacks, security guarantees, reparations, and retention of control over the Strait.
White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt struck a notably different tone from the Iranian public position, saying talks were “productive” and ongoing. She also suggested the administration remained committed to ending the war within its stated four-to-six-week timeframe. Trump’s rescheduled visit to Beijing on May 14 was seen by analysts as a deadline the administration was working toward.
China weighed in diplomatically, with Foreign Minister Wang Yi calling his Egyptian and Turkish counterparts to push for dialogue. He expressed cautious optimism, suggesting that both parties had shown enough willingness to talk to offer hope for peace. Pakistan and Egypt indicated that direct face-to-face negotiations between Washington and Tehran could potentially begin within 48 hours, pending agreement on a venue.
The military campaign continued ferociously throughout. US Central Command reported destroying 92% of Iran’s largest naval vessels and crippling a significant portion of its missile production capacity. Israel struck Iran in multiple waves, targeting locations including a submarine development facility near Isfahan. Iran retaliated with missile barrages against Israel and drone attacks on Gulf states. Domestically, Trump faced growing political headwinds, with a new poll showing his approval rating at an all-time low of 36% and nearly 60% of Americans saying the war had gone too far.
