The U.S. faces a choice between launching an “impossible” military operation or accepting a “bad deal” with Tehran, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) said Sunday.
The Middle East war, launched by the United States and Israel in late February, has been on hold since April 8, with one failed round of peace talks having taken place in Pakistan.
Negotiations have since stalled as the U.S. imposed a naval blockade on Iranian ports, while Iran has kept the key Strait of Hormuz largely closed.
The Guards’ intelligence organization said that U.S. President Donald “Trump must choose between ‘an impossible operation or a bad deal with the Islamic Republic of Iran,'” in an online post carried by state television.
It added that the window for U.S. decision-making “has been narrowed,” citing what it described as a “shift in tone” from China, Russia and Europe toward Washington, as well as what it called an Iranian “deadline” over the U.S. naval blockade, without elaborating.
U.S. outlet Axios, citing two sources briefed on a recent Iranian proposal to the U.S., reported that Tehran had set “a one-month deadline for negotiations on a deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, end the U.S. naval blockade and permanently end the war in Iran and in Lebanon.”
On Sunday, Trump said in a post on Truth Social that he would be reviewing Iran’s latest proposal but added that he “can’t imagine that it would be acceptable.”
Iranian media, including the Tasnim and Fars news agencies, reported Saturday on the contents of the proposal.
According to Tasnim, Iran has said the outstanding issues between the two sides “should be resolved within 30 days” and should focus “on ending the war instead of extending the cease-fire.”
The issues, Tasnim said, included “the withdrawal of U.S. military forces from Iran’s periphery, lifting the naval blockade, releasing Iran’s frozen assets and lifting sanctions.”
The report also mentioned that “ending the war on all fronts, including Lebanon and agreeing a new mechanism for the Strait of Hormuz.”
