Iran rejects Pakistan-mediated truce deal

Iran has rejected Pakistan’s two-stage proposal for ending the war and opening the Strait of Hormuz, Reuters reported on Monday afternoon.

Iran emphasized ⁠the need for a permanent end to the conflict, its state-run IRNA news agency said.

The United States and Iran had received proposals to halt hostilities and ‌reopen the Strait. The proposed agreement called for an immediate truce followed by a comprehensive deal.

Field Marshal Asim Munir, Pakistan’s chief of Defense Forces and Army Staff, has been in contact “all night long” with U.S. Vice President JD Vance, Mideast envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, a source told Reuters.

Esmail Baghaei, a spokesperson for Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told reporters on Monday that “we have formulated our own responses.”

“Iran does not hesitate to clearly express what it considers its legitimate demands, and doing so should not be interpreted as a sign of compromise, but rather as a reflection of its confidence in defending its positions,” the spokesman said.

Baghaei added that negotiations were “incompatible with ultimatums and threats to commit war crimes.”

Axios first reported on Sunday that regional mediators, including Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey, were pushing a 45-day ceasefire as part of a two-phase deal that could lead to a permanent end to the fighting.

A U.S. official told Axios the Trump administration passed several proposals to Tehran over recent days, but that so far, Iranian officials hadn’t accepted them.

U.S. President Donald Trump told Fox News on Sunday that if the Iranian regime doesn’t strike a deal by Tuesday, he would consider “blowing everything up and taking over the oil.”

“You’re going to see bridges and power plants dropping all over their country,” the president said in a conversation with Fox foreign correspondent Trey Yingst. Trump added that those who are negotiating on behalf of the regime have been granted amnesty from elimination so they can continue the talks on Monday.

Yingst spoke with Trump shortly after the president warned Tehran in a Truth Social post that “time is running out” to make a deal.

“Tuesday will be Power Plant Day and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F**kin’ Strait, you crazy bastards, or you’ll be living in Hell – JUST WATCH! Praise be to Allah,” wrote the president.

Trump later on Sunday apparently named the specific time by which the Iranians must open the Strait of Hormuz, extending his previous deadline to Tuesday night.

His 10-day ultimatum was set to expire on Monday, but the cryptic post on Truth Social read: “Tuesday, 8:00 P.M. Eastern Time!”