The US, Israel and Iran have laid out their maximalist positions on ending the fighting that has set the Middle East ablaze and is threatening the global economy by choking off energy supplies from the Persian Gulf region.
Here's what the parties say about their positions in the conflict, in which the US and Israel have been carrying out airstrikes on Iran since February 28, and Iran has been striking Israel, US bases and countries in the region.
What do the Americans say?
US President Donald Trump has handed Iran a 15-point plan via Pakistan.
It has not been made public and the US administration has refused to reveal details of it. They said that some media reports about its content were incorrect, without providing details.
Three Israeli government sources said the plan included:
Removing Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
Ending Iran's uranium enrichment program.
Limiting Iran's ballistic missile program.
Ending Iran's support for its regional allies such as “Hezbollah“ in Lebanon.
The United States will hit Iran “harder than they have been hit before“ if Tehran does not accept the offer, the White House said yesterday.
Washington is expected to send thousands of additional troops to the Middle East, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters.
What is Iran's position?
A senior Iranian official told Reuters that Iran's response to US proposals to end the war “has not been positive” but that Tehran is still considering them.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said yesterday that Tehran was not negotiating with the United States, although messages were being exchanged through intermediaries.
He said Iran wanted a permanent end to the war and compensation for destruction.
Iran claims sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz as its "natural, legal right," an official was quoted as saying by Iran's Press TV on Sunday.
Tehran has told mediators that any ceasefire agreement must also include Israel's war in Lebanon, six local sources familiar with Tehran's position told Reuters.
If there is no ceasefire, Iran is touting its own escalation capabilities, saying it could take action to cut off another key sea route - the The Bab al-Mandeb Strait in the Red Sea, which offers an alternative route for exporting some of the oil from the Persian Gulf, has also said it has intelligence that the United States is planning to occupy an Iranian island with the support of a regional state and has threatened to attack vital infrastructure in the country if it does so, without naming it by name. What do the Israelis say? A senior Israeli defense official said his country was skeptical that Iran would agree to the US terms but was also concerned that Trump might make concessions. Israel wants any future agreement to preserve its ability to carry out preemptive strikes, a second source said. An Israeli military spokesman said on Monday that the mission was now to continue destroying Iranian military capabilities and that Israel “there are still many targets left“.
Translated from English: Viktor Turmakov, BTA