Pakistan-backed Iran proposal reportedly strains Trump-Netanyahu talks

WASHINGTON: A revised peace proposal on Iran prepared with Pakistani and Qatari involvement has become a new point of friction between United States President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, according to reports that also indicate continued message exchanges between Washington and Tehran through Islamabad.

Geo News, citing Axios, reported that Pakistan and Qatar, with input from other regional mediators, worked on an updated draft aimed at narrowing differences between the US and Iran as Washington weighed whether to continue diplomacy or consider a major strike. Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkiye and Egypt had been involved in recent days in refining the proposal.

One source said there was no separate Qatari draft and that Doha was instead trying to bridge gaps from an earlier Pakistani proposal. A Qatari diplomat told Axios that Doha had supported Pakistan-led mediation and had consistently pushed for de-escalation in the region.

Trump and Netanyahu reportedly differ

Axios, as cited by Geo News, reported that Trump held a lengthy and difficult call with Netanyahu on Tuesday evening. A US source briefed on the call said Trump told Netanyahu that mediators were working on a letter of intent that the US and Iran would sign to formally end the war and begin a 30-day negotiating period on Iran’s nuclear programme and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.

Two Israeli sources told Axios that Trump and Netanyahu disagreed on the path ahead. Netanyahu remained highly doubtful about the talks and wanted the war resumed to further damage Iran’s military capabilities and critical infrastructure, while Trump continued to say an agreement was still possible.

"The only question is do we go and finish it up or are they gonna be signing a document. Let's see what happens," Trump said speaking on Wednesday at the Coast Guard Academy.

Geo News also reported that Trump later said the US and Iran were right on the borderline between a deal and renewed war, and that he warned fighting could restart if negotiations failed.

In another comment carried in the report, Trump said: "If I can save people from getting killed by waiting a couple of days, I think it is a great thing to do."

The White House and the Israeli prime minister’s office declined to comment to Axios. An Israeli source also said Netanyahu wanted to travel to Washington in the coming weeks for a meeting with Trump.

Iran says US response is under review

Separately, Iran’s Nour News Agency reported on Thursday that Washington and Tehran had exchanged messages through Pakistan over the wording of a proposed ceasefire document, according to Al Jazeera as cited by Express Tribune.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the exchanges had taken place several times on the basis of Iran’s 14-point proposal. He said Tehran had received the American side’s views and was reviewing them. Baghaei made the remarks during a visit to Iran by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, whose trip was described as part of Pakistan’s mediation efforts.

Geo News similarly reported that Iran’s Foreign Ministry said negotiations were continuing based on Iran’s 14-point proposal and that Naqvi was in Tehran to assist mediation in what it described as his second visit in less than a week.

According to Axios, cited by Geo News, the latest effort seeks clearer Iranian commitments on its nuclear programme and more specific US assurances on the gradual release of frozen Iranian funds. The report added, however, that it remained uncertain whether Iran would accept the revised draft or significantly alter its position.

Geo News further reported that Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson said talks could succeed only if the US ended what he called piracy against Iranian ships and agreed to release frozen funds, while Israel would also have to end its war in Lebanon.

US and Iranian warnings continue

Express Tribune reported that White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller warned Iran’s leadership that it faced a stark choice if negotiations did not move forward.

"This new team in Iran has a choice to make. They can either agree to a piece of paper that is satisfactory to the United States, or they can face a punishment from our military, the likes of which has not been seen in modern history. That’s the choice that they face," Miller said speaking to Fox News.

The same report said Iran stated on Wednesday that the United States had failed to reopen the Strait of Hormuz despite repeated tricks. Remarks carried by Iran’s semi-official ISNA news agency quoted the political deputy of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Navy as saying: "The Americans, despite a thousand tricks and acts of deception, could not reopen it."

He added that Iranian armed forces remained ready to respond to any future attack. Express Tribune also reported that an Iranian military source told Russia’s RIA Novosti that Iran had advanced weapons that had not yet been used in war and that the country faced no shortage in military or defensive capability.

Iran’s Persian Gulf Strait Authority had announced a new oversight zone in the Strait of Hormuz requiring vessels in designated areas to coordinate with Iranian authorities. The measure applied to maritime routes between Iran and the United Arab Emirates at both eastern and western entrances to the waterway.

Express Tribune said regional tensions had escalated since US and Israeli strikes on Iran in February, followed by Iranian retaliation against Israel and US allies in the Gulf and the closure of the Strait of Hormuz. A ceasefire took effect on April 8 through Pakistani mediation, but talks in Islamabad did not produce a lasting agreement, after which Trump extended the truce indefinitely while maintaining a blockade on vessels travelling to or from Iranian ports through the strategic waterway.