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A banner depicting Ali Khamenei, the slain former supreme leader of Iran, with the words “Allah’s martyr” flies in Baghdad, Iraq. (AP/Yonhap)

Iran’s state-owned Press TV reported Wednesday (local time) that the Iranian government had rejected the US’ ceasefire proposal.
 
 “Iran will not allow US President Donald Trump to dictate the timing of the war’s end,” the outlet reported, citing a senior Iranian official with knowledge of the details of the proposal.
 
The Trump administration had reportedly proposed a month-long ceasefire for the two sides to work out a deal that would involve lifting all sanctions on Iran if it were to abandon its nuclear program and open up the Strait of Hormuz. Iran has effectively rejected that proposal in the form of a state media report.
 
“Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met,” the official said. The outlet also reported that the official criticized the US for pursuing negotiations through diplomatic channels and putting forward proposals that are “excessive” and “disconnected from the reality of America’s failure on the battlefield.”
 
Iran called the overture, which was reportedly delivered via an intermediary in the region friendly with Tehran, a “ploy to heighten tensions,” and has rebuffed the proposal. This suggests that Iran expressed its rejection to the US via Pakistan, which had originally communicated the plan to Iran.  
 
The official also outlined for the outlet five specific conditions under which Iran would agree to a ceasefire: a complete halt to aggression and assassinations by the enemy; the establishment of concrete means to ensure no other war is waged against it; reparations for the war; the end of the war across all fronts; and the recognition of Iran’s exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.
 
By Noh Hyun-woong, staff reporter

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