US President Donald Trump stated that Iran’s response to America’s proposals to end the war was “completely unacceptable,” resulting in rising oil prices. According to Tasnim, an Iranian semi-official news agency, Tehran’s reply delivered via Pakistan called for an immediate halt to the conflict and demanded that the US and Israel commit to no further attacks on Iran. Pakistan has been mediating between the two sides. In Asian markets, Brent crude oil prices surged 4.1 percent, reaching $105.50 per barrel before easing slightly.
The Strait of Hormuz has been blocked since February 28 due to the ongoing conflict, disrupting the supply of oil and gas via tankers to various global regions. “I just read the response from the so-called ‘representatives’ of Iran and I do not like it — completely unacceptable,” Trump wrote on social media in reaction to Tehran’s conditions. According to the US news portal Axios, Washington’s proposals did not include conditions for reopening tanker traffic through Hormuz or Iran halting its nuclear material enrichment, unlike Iran’s demands.
The US proposal contained 14 points. Axios cited two unnamed US officials and two additional sources. A few days prior, Trump declared that the war with Iran would soon end. However, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that the war would continue “until the accumulated uranium in Iran is removed.” A ceasefire was declared at the beginning of April to facilitate peace talks. Aside from minor incidents, the ceasefire has largely been observed. Trump extended the ceasefire indefinitely on April 21 to allow Iran more time to present a “unified proposal.”
