"The enemy, in its new design, is seeking, through a naval blockade, economic pressure and media manipulation, to destroy the country's cohesion and force us to surrender," Ghalibaf said in a voice message published on his official Telegram channel, as Trump has threatened to bomb Iran if a final agreement isn’t reached.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said that a US proposal to end the war is still "under review".
“The US plan and proposal is still under review by Iran, and after finalizing its viewpoints, Iran will convey its views to key mediator in Pakistan,” Baghaei told the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA).
He later emphasized in an interview with state broadcaster IRIB that the review is still underway and that Iran hasn’t yet submitted its reply to the Pakistani mediators.
“The exchange of messages through the Pakistani mediator is ongoing, and reviews of the exchanged texts continue,” Baghaei said.
“Iran’s response to the US views regarding our country’s 14-point proposal has not yet been conveyed to the Pakistani side.”
Earlier on Wednesday, in a phone call with PBS News, Trump said that the terms of a potential deal with Iran should include Tehran shipping its enriched uranium stockpile to the United States and pledging not to operate its underground facilities.
This came hours after Trump suspended a one-day old "Project Freedom" a mission to escort commercial vessels through the Strait of Hormuz.
In a post on Truth Social: Trump wrote, "Assuming Iran agrees to give what has been agreed to, which is, perhaps, a big assumption, the already legendary Epic Fury will be at an end, and the highly effective Blockade will allow the Hormuz Strait to be OPEN TO ALL, including Iran."
"If they don’t agree, the bombing starts, and it will be, sadly, at a much higher level and intensity than it was before," Trump added.
According to several media outlets, including Reuters and CNN, the United States and Iran are moving closer to an agreement on a short memorandum.
The one-page memorandum would declare an end to the war and trigger a 30-day period resolving nuclear demands, unfreezing of Iranian assets and negotiating security in the Strait of Hormuz.
The memorandum would be followed by discussions to unblock shipping through the Strait of Hormuz, lift US sanctions on Iran and agree curbs on Iran's nuclear programme, the sources said.
"We will close this very soon. We are getting close," said the source from Pakistan.
The source briefed on the mediation told Reuters that the US negotiations were being led by Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner. If both sides agreed on the preliminary deal, that would start the clock on 30 days of detailed negotiations to reach a full agreement.
The full agreement would include the US lifting sanctions and releasing frozen Iranian funds, Iran and the US lifting competing blockades on the Strait of Hormuz, and some curbs on Iran's nuclear programme, with the aim of a pause or moratorium on Iranian enrichment of uranium.
While the sources said the memorandum would not initially require concessions from either side, they did not mention several key demands Washington has made in the past, which Iran has rejected, such as curbs on Iran's missile programme and an end to its support for proxy militias in the Middle East.
The sources spoke of potential curbs on future Iranian enrichment of uranium, but made no mention of Iran's existing stockpile of more than 400 kilograms (900 pounds), already enriched to near weapons grade, which Washington has previously demanded it yield up to end the war.
And even if the reported text appeared to sidestep some demands previously rejected by Iran, there were indications Tehran could still hold out for more.
In a post on X, Iranian lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei, a spokesperson for parliament's powerful foreign policy and national security committee, described the text reported by Axios as "more of an American wish-list than a reality".
"The Americans will not gain anything in a war they are losing that they have not gained in face-to-face negotiations," he wrote.
In tandem, in a post on X, Ghalibaf mocked the Trump administration for pausing the naval effort to assist ships in leaving the Strait of Hormuz.
“Operation Trust Me Bro failed. Now back to routine with Operation Fauxios,” wrote Ghalibaf, in reference to the "Project Freedom" operation and the Axios report.
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