Iran has responded to the United States’ proposal to end the war, a senior foreign diplomat in Tehran linked to the peace negotiations told MS NOW Sunday.
It was not immediately clear what Iran’s response entailed. But it came one day after top Trump officials met in Miami with Qatar’s prime minister as the war entered its tenth week and more than a month after the Pakistani-brokered ceasefire agreement between Washington and Tehran.
“This is a positive step but any ending is still a long way down the road,” the source said of Iran’s response to the most recent proposal. “Mistrust needs to be seriously reduced and atmospherics need to be substantially improved.”
President Donald Trump has repeatedly insisted the ceasefire remains intact despite the continued exchange of hostilities and mirroring naval blockades. The U.S. launched strikes against Iran last week in retaliation for an attack on U.S. Navy destroyers, with Trump initially dismissing it as just “a love tap.”
Trump said in a wide-ranging interview aired Sunday on “Full Measure” that the U.S. has hit “probably 70 percent” of its targets and that Iran has “no leaders” and “no military.” But he added that combat operations have not ended.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said in an X post Sunday, “We will never bow our heads before the enemy, and if talk of dialogue or negotiation arises, it does not mean surrender or retreat.”
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said in a Sunday interview on ABC’s “This Week” that Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei “has been severely injured” and is “difficult to get a hold of.” He acknowledged that negotiations are taking “longer and slower, I think, than anyone would like” but said “those negotiations and that diplomacy is ongoing.”
Secretary of State Marco Rubio and White House envoy Steve Witkoff met on Saturday with Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani. State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott stopped short of describing the meeting as peace talks, but said they discussed the “importance of continued close coordination to deter threats and promote stability and security across the Middle East.”
Trump officials remain firm on their demand that Iran cannot have nuclear weapons capabilities. In the most recent ceasefire deal struck in April, Iran rejected the U.S. proposal to suspend all nuclear activity for 20 years and reaffirmed its right to enrich uranium.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei criticized the International Atomic Energy Agency, accusing the nuclear peace agency of becoming politicized.
“The IAEA’s mandate is verification, not political messaging about the Strait of Hormuz, Iran’s missiles, or how Tehran should conduct itself,” Baghaei wrote in an X post Sunday. “When professional impartiality is compromised for political signaling or personal ambition, institutions erode their credibility — and, over time, their effectiveness as well.”
The war continues to jolt the global economy, and Americans are feeling the pain at the pump. Energy Secretary Chris Wright declined to answer whether Americans should expect gas to rise even higher to $5 a gallon. In an interview with NBC’s “Meet the Press” Sunday, he said, “I can’t predict the price of energy in the short term or even the medium term.”
The average gas price per gallon is $4.52 and climbing, according to motorist group AAA. Last year’s average was $3.14. The Strait of Hormuz – the key trade route through which 20% of the world’s oil flows – remains closed by Iran, despite international calls to allow for the safe passage of cargo ships.
Akayla Gardner contributed to this report.
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