Tehran has dismissed a 15-point peace plan reportedly offered by the United States as a negotiation with itself, signaling continued defiance amid escalating conflict. The remarks, delivered by a senior Iranian military spokesperson on Wednesday, underscore the deep chasm between Washington and Tehran as the conflict enters a critical phase.
Ebrahim Zolfaghari, spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters – the command structure that takes control of the General Staff during wartime – questioned the purpose of the U.S. Initiative. “Are your internal conflicts so advanced that you are now negotiating with yourselves?” he asked derisively in a pre-recorded video broadcast on state television.
Zolfaghari’s comments came shortly after the Trump administration reportedly delivered the 15-point plan for a ceasefire to Iran via Pakistan, according to the Associated Press. “Our first and last word has always been the same, and it will remain so: Someone like us will never agree with someone like you,” Zolfaghari stated. “Not now, never.”
“The strategic strength you have spoken of has turned into strategic failure,” he continued. “Whoever claims to be a global superpower should have long since extricated themselves from this mess if they were capable. Do not present your defeat as an agreement. Your era of empty promises is over.”
Even as the White House initially dismissed speculation about potential negotiations, President Trump has continued to insist on the Iranians’ alleged willingness to talk. The President also claimed that Iranian representatives had delivered a gift to the U.S., indicating “that we are talking to the right people.”
