Amid reports that Trump was greatly dissatisfied with Tehran’s “stupid proposal” to Washington’s ceasefire proposal, Iranian Parliamentary Commission spokesperson Ebrahim Rezaei, on Tuesday, May 12, said that one of their responses in the event of another attack, “could be 90 per cent enrichment.”
“We will review it in the parliament,” he wrote on X.
According to officials, Tehran’s proposal included some nuclear concessions. However, the stalled diplomacy and recent sporadic exchanges of fire could tip the Middle East back into open warfare and prolong the worldwide energy crisis sparked by the conflict. Iran still has a chokehold on the Strait of Hormuz, a vital waterway for global oil and gas shipments, and America is blockading Iranian ports.
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Iran’s proposal included far-reaching demands
Iran’s proposal asked that the US recognise its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, formalising its control over the international waterway. Iran has effectively closed the strait since the start of the war, allowing only a small number of ships to pass and charging tolls.
But experts say such an arrangement would likely violate international law that provides for freedom of navigation. That proposal is also likely to be widely rejected by the international community. The strait was open to international traffic before the war.
Iran is also demanding war reparations from the US, the lifting of international sanctions, the unfreezing of Iranian assets held abroad and an end to the war between Israel and Lebanon’s Iran-backed Hezbollah, according to Iranian state TV.
“We did not demand any concessions — the only thing we demanded was Iran’s legitimate rights,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said Monday. “The American side still insists on its one-sided views and unreasonable demands.”
Iran keeps up its executions
Iran has executed a person affiliated with the Baloch armed group, Ansar al-Furqan, working from the country’s southeastern province of Sistan Baluchestan, reported the semi-official Tasnim news agency.
Abdoljalil Shahbaksh, the suspected fighter, was convicted of armed rebellion against security forces and membership in a “terrorist group,” and the Supreme Court upheld the death sentence.
Iran has carried out a string of executions since nationwide protests swept the country in January. Activist groups have long accused Iran of carrying out closed-door trials during which defendants are unable to fully defend themselves. Iran’s judiciary chief has repeatedly said that Tehran would increase the speed with which it carried out hangings to fight back against its enemies at home and abroad.
Israel issues forced displacement notices in 4 villages, towns in Lebanon
The Israeli army has yet again issued forced displacement notices for multiple villages and towns in southern Lebanon while it continues its military actions despite the ongoing “ceasefire.”
The most recent attack targeted villages and towns of Arzoun, Tayr Debba, Bazouriyeh, and al-Haush. Residents were asked to flee before Israel initiated military action in the areas.
Pakistan still trying to negotiate a deal
Two regional diplomats familiar with the ongoing talks said that Pakistan was continuing its efforts to broker a compromise.
One of the diplomats said Pakistan was trying to arrange a memorandum of understanding aimed at ending the war and paving the way for a broader dialogue on issues where the two sides remain divided.
Pakistan had hoped to help finalise the memorandum last week, but the effort did not materialise, and mediators are still working on various proposals, the diplomat said.
The diplomat, speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss the behind-the-scenes diplomacy, added that Islamabad is receiving support from other regional countries in its peace efforts.
Trump, Xi appear intent on keeping differences over Iran war from overshadowing China summit
Trump on Tuesday is set to leave for Beijing to meet with President Xi Jinping after weeks of trying, and failing, to persuade the Chinese government to use its considerable leverage to prod Iran to agree to US terms to end the two-month-old war, or at the very least, reopen the critical Strait of Hormuz.
Trump has veered between venting that China, the world’s biggest buyer of Iranian oil, hasn’t done more to get the Islamic Republic in line, and acknowledging that Xi’s government helped de-escalate the conflict last month by nudging Tehran back to ceasefire talks when negotiations wobbled.
But ahead of the US leader’s high-stakes visit, the White House has set low expectations that Trump will be able to persuade Xi to change China’s posture.
Instead, the administration seems determined not to let differences on Iran overshadow efforts to make headway on other difficult matters in the complicated relationship, ranging from trade to further Chinese cooperation to block exports of fentanyl precursors.
“We don’t want this to be something that derails the broader relationship or the agreements that might come out of our meeting in Beijing,” US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said on Bloomberg TV last week.
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