Iran yet to formally reject US proposal; says plan under review

Iran is still reviewing a US proposal to end the war in the Gulf, despite an initial response that was negative, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday, indicating that Tehran had so far stopped short of rejecting it outright.

Publicly, Iranian officials poured withering scorn on the prospect of any negotiations with the administration of US President Donald Trump. But an apparent delay in delivering a formal response to Pakistan, which delivered a 15-point proposal on behalf of Washington, appeared to signal that at least some figures in Tehran may be considering it.

The senior Iranian official's comments that the proposal was still under review, though the initial response was "not positive," appeared to contradict a report by Iran's Press TV, which cited an unidentified official as saying Iran had rejected it.

A senior Pakistani security official said that Pakistan had followed up with Iran's foreign minister and was still awaiting a formal reply. A second Pakistani source said, "The Iranians told us they will get back to us tonight. The media is reporting they've said no. But we have not received any official confirmation from Iran. So we are just waiting. They are all underground, and communication is a big challenge."

Another senior Iranian official had earlier confirmed that Tehran had received a proposal and said that talks, if they went ahead, could be held in either Pakistan or Turkey.

Markets respond positively to proposal
Global equity markets regained some ground while oil prices dipped on Wednesday after reports that Washington had sent the 15-point plan to Iran, with investors hoping for an end to a war that has disrupted global energy supplies and risks fuelling inflation.

The senior Pakistani security official said Pakistani intelligence had delivered the US proposal to Iran, and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar had followed up with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. So far, there had been no response from the Iranians or any confirmed dates or venue for talks, the Pakistani official said. 

Three Israeli cabinet sources said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet had been briefed on the US proposal. They said its terms included removing Iran's stocks of highly enriched uranium, halting enrichment, curbing its ballistic missile programme and ending funding for regional allies.

The Pentagon is meanwhile planning to send thousands of airborne troops to the Gulf to give Trump more options to order a ground assault, sources have told Reuters, adding to two contingents of Marines already on their way. The first Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard a huge amphibious assault ship could arrive around the end of the month.

Iran could open a new front in the Bab al-Mandab Strait if attacks are carried out on Iranian territory or its islands, Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency cited an unnamed Iranian military source as saying on Wednesday. The source said that Iran has the capability to pose a "credible threat" in the strategic strait that flows into the Red Sea.

Since the start of what the US calls "Operation Epic Fury", Iran has attacked countries that host US bases and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a conduit for a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday warned the "world is staring down the barrel of a wider war" in the region. "It is time to stop climbing the escalation ladder – and start climbing the diplomatic ladder," he said at the UN headquarters in New York.