Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has not yet responded to the latest proposal submitted by the United States, two people familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post on Sunday.
He also has not responded to the previous draft memorandum of understanding agreed upon by the Iranian and American negotiators last Tuesday, the Israeli sources said.
The latest proposal sent by the United States, which was shared with the sources, reflects a tougher stance by US President Donald Trump on both the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program, one of the sources told the Post.
“President Trump was angered by Khamenei’s failure to respond to the previous proposal and has consequently hardened the US demands toward Iran,” the source said.
Senior Israeli officials are finding it difficult to envision Iran accepting this latest proposal, an Israeli source told the Post.
“This has become a game of chicken between Tehran and Washington,” the source said. “Who will blink first? Will Trump agree to back away from his demands, or will Tehran accept conditions it has so far been unwilling to accept?”
Ghalibaf, Araghchi contradict Trump's statements
A series of statements from top Iranian officials, including its senior negotiator, Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, contradicted some of Trump’s statements about the negotiations and the Strait of Hormuz.
“We seize concessions not through dialogue, but with missiles,” Ghalibaf said on Saturday. “In negotiations, we merely make them understand.”
“The winner of any agreement is the one who is better prepared for war from the day after,” he wrote on X/Twitter.
On Friday, Araghchi said he had discussed the Strait of Hormuz and its future administration with Omani Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad al-Busaidi in line with their sovereign responsibilities and international law.
Araghchi said he also had expressed Iran’s solidarity with Oman against any threat.
“We welcome consultation with all neighboring states,” he wrote on X.
Jerusalem Post Staff and Reuters contributed to this report.