RismadarVoice Reporters, May 12, 2026
Iran’s top nuclear negotiator has issued a firm ultimatum to the United States, demanding acceptance of Tehran’s proposed peace framework or risk what he described as “repeated failure” in ongoing efforts to end hostilities in the Middle East.
The warning was delivered on Tuesday by Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, who insisted that Washington must accept Iran’s conditions as outlined in a 14-point proposal if it hopes to bring an end to the protracted conflict.
“There is no alternative but to accept the rights of the Iranian people as laid out in the 14-point proposal,” Ghalibaf wrote on social media platform X. “Any other approach will be completely inconclusive; nothing but one failure after another.”
The statement follows the rejection of Iran’s latest counterproposal by United States President Donald Trump, who recently warned that the fragile ceasefire established since April 8 was increasingly unstable.
The deadlock comes after weeks of stalled diplomacy between both sides, with an earlier round of talks failing to produce a breakthrough agreement on de-escalation and Iran’s nuclear programme.
Ghalibaf maintained that continued delay by Washington would only increase costs for the United States, particularly for American taxpayers, as tensions persist across multiple fronts in the region.
Tehran has also maintained a hardline position in the conflict, warning that its forces remain prepared to respond to any renewed U.S. military action. Iranian authorities have leveraged strategic pressure in key maritime zones, including disruptions in the Strait of Hormuz, a critical global oil shipping route.
Although details of Washington’s latest peace proposal remain limited, reports suggest it includes a brief memorandum aimed at halting hostilities and opening structured negotiations on Iran’s nuclear activities.
Iran’s foreign ministry has responded with its own demands, including an end to military operations across the region, the lifting of naval restrictions on Iranian ports, and the release of frozen Iranian assets abroad.
Lawmakers in Tehran have also escalated rhetoric, with parliamentary officials suggesting that Iran could consider raising uranium enrichment levels to weapons-grade purity if hostilities resume—a move that would significantly heighten international concern over nuclear escalation.
The dispute over Iran’s uranium stockpile remains one of the central obstacles in negotiations, with the United States insisting that enriched material be removed from Iranian territory, while Tehran maintains that its nuclear programme is for peaceful purposes and remains open only to limited concessions.
With diplomatic talks stalled and rhetoric intensifying on both sides, prospects for a near-term breakthrough appear increasingly uncertain as tensions continue to mount across the region.
