Iran reviews US ceasefire plan but denies talks as Trump claims Tehran desperately wants a deal, with global markets and supply chains reeling from the ongoing conflict.

DUBAI/TEL AVIV/WASHINGTON: Contradictory statements from US President Donald Trump and Iran’s foreign minister have cast doubt on prospects for ending the nearly four-week conflict. Trump asserted Iranian leaders are desperate to negotiate, while Tehran insists it is only reviewing a proposal.

“Iranian leaders are negotiating, by the way, and they want to make a deal so badly, but they’re afraid to say it,” Trump said at a Washington event. He claimed they fear reprisals from their own people and from US forces.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi directly contradicted this. He stated there have been “no dialogue or negotiation with the US,” only messages exchanged through intermediaries.

“Messages being conveyed through our friendly countries and us responding by stating our positions or issuing the necessary warnings is not called negotiation or dialogue,” Araqchi said in a state television interview. “It is simply an exchange of messages through our friends.”

The conflict began with US and Israeli attacks on Iran on February 28, prompting Iranian strikes against Israel, US bases, and Gulf states. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed on the first day.

He was replaced by his son, Mojtaba, who has been wounded and not seen publicly since his appointment. Thousands have been killed across the Middle East since the fighting started.

A 15-point US ceasefire proposal, sent via Pakistan, demands Iran remove stocks of highly enriched uranium and halt enrichment. It also calls for curbing Iran’s ballistic missile programme and cutting funding for regional allies, according to three Israeli cabinet sources.

The White House declined to detail the plan but threatened further escalation. “If they fail to understand that they have been defeated militarily, and will continue to be, President Trump will ensure they are hit harder,” press secretary Karoline Leavitt said.

A senior Israeli defence official expressed skepticism Iran would agree to the terms. Israel is also concerned US negotiators might make concessions and wants to preserve its option for pre-emptive strikes, sources said.

Iran has told intermediaries that Lebanon must be included in any ceasefire agreement, according to six regional sources familiar with its position.

The war’s fallout has caused a historic energy shock, with the Strait of Hormuz effectively closed. This vital conduit handles a fifth of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.

Global fuel shortages are impacting businesses from airlines to supermarkets. Farmers are struggling to source diesel, and the World Food Programme warns tens of millions more will face acute hunger if the war continues into June.

Initial hopes for a ceasefire had briefly boosted global stock markets. That optimism faded on Thursday, with oil prices resuming their surge.

“Optimism regarding a ceasefire has faded,” said Tsuyoshi Ueno, senior economist at NLI Research Institute.

Military strikes continued across the Gulf. The Israeli military said it completed a wide-scale wave of strikes targeting Iranian infrastructure early on Thursday.

Admiral Brad Cooper, the US Central Command chief, said American forces had hit over 10,000 targets inside Iran. He stated the campaign has destroyed 92% of Iran’s largest naval vessels and reduced its drone and missile launch rates by over 90%.

“Two-thirds of Iran’s missile, drone and naval production facilities and shipyards” have been damaged or destroyed, Cooper added in a video briefing.

The Pentagon is planning to send thousands of airborne troops to the Gulf to provide more options for a potential ground assault. This adds to two contingents of Marines already en route, with the first unit possibly arriving by month’s end.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued a stark warning on the escalating crisis. “The world is staring down the barrel of a wider war,” he said at UN headquarters.

“It is time to stop climbing the escalation ladder – and start climbing the diplomatic ladder,” Guterres urged.

 The Sun Malaysia