What demands are in Iran’s 10-point plan?
According to state media, Iran will only accept the war’s conclusion once details are finalised in line with a 10-point peace plan reportedly submitted to the White House via Pakistani intermediaries.
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The list of 10 points, published by Iranianstate media, include a number of conditions the US has rejected in the past. The plan requires:
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The lifting of all primary and secondary sanctions on Iran.
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Continued Iranian control over the strait of Hormuz.
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US military withdrawal from the Middle East.
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An end to attacks on Iran and its allies.
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The release of frozen Iranian assets.
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A UN security council resolution making any deal binding.
In the version released in Farsi, Iran also included the phrase “acceptance of enrichment” for its nuclear program. But for reasons that remain unclear, that phrase was missing in English versions shared by Iranian diplomats to journalists.
The Iranian foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said safe passage through the strait would be allowed under Iranian military management. It wasn’t immediately clear whether that meant Iran would completely loosen its hold on the waterway.
The plan allows Iran and Oman to charge a fee of up to $2m a ship on vessels transiting through the strait, according to reports. Iran would then use the money it raises for reconstruction.
If peace talks fail, Tehran may again seek to close the strait.
Pakistan’s prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, who helped mediate the ceasefire, said in a post on X that he had invited Iranian and US delegations to meet in Islamabad on Friday.
Tehran has said it will participate in the talks. The White House said it is considering in-person talks with Iran but they have not been finalised.
Since negotiations began between the Trump administration and Iran over the status of Tehran’s nuclear programme almost a year ago, their vastly different demands and the limits to what each side would concede have proved a barrier to any lasting agreement.
Iran’s demand that it retains control over the strait of Hormuz has been highlighted as of particular concern, as it held no control over the strait before the conflict began.
The Democratic senator Chris Murphy leapt on the comments from Iran, telling CNN “who knows if any of that is true, but if this agreement gives Iran the right to control the strait that is cataclysmic for the world”.
Trump himself has not commented directly on Iran’s demands, but said the US would “be helping with the traffic buildup in the Strait of Hormuz”.
Experts and analysts have suggested that Iran’s maximalist demands are unlikely to be agreed to by the US, but will rather form the basis for talks. Late on Tuesday, Pakistan’s prime minister urged Trump to extend his deadline by two weeks to allow diplomacy to advance. In a post on X, Sharif, whose country has been leading negotiations, also asked Iran to open up for two weeks the strait of Hormuz.
China, which is Tehran’s biggest trade partner, encouraged the Iranians to find a way to a ceasefire as talks progressed, according to two officials who were not authorised to comment and spoke to AP on condition of anonymity. Trump told AFP on Tuesday he believed China had helped get Iran to the negotiating table. With the US midterm election campaign ramping up, Trump’s approval ratings have hit their lowest level ever, leaving his Republican party at risk of losing its narrow majorities in Congress. Polls show sizeable majorities of Americans are opposed to the war and frustrated by the rising cost of petrol.
