Tehran: Iran announced on Saturday it continues to assess a US offer related to West Asia talks and will respond “at the appropriate time,” according to an Al Jazeera report.
Hopes had risen for Tehran’s response on Friday, following US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks during a Rome press briefing that Washington expected Iran’s input soon amid the stalled West Asia talks.
Yet Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei indicated the document is under ongoing review and rejected US timeline pressures, as cited by The Economic Times.
Iran Vets Proposal Amid Tech Scrutiny
“The deadlines set by American politicians mean nothing; we do our own work, and we do not concern ourselves with deadlines or ultimatums,” Baghaei stated.
Al Jazeera attributed the holdup partly to the proposal’s intricate technical elements, with negotiators poring over each clause. It also requires sign-off from key Iranian entities and leaders.
The process engages Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), and Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, which handles critical security issues like the current conflict.
Al Jazeera added that Iran’s Supreme Leader must greenlight the final reply before transmission to Washington.
Trump, Rubio Push Friday Reply
Officials in Tehran have reiterated that deliberations persist and the proposal remains under internal study.
Earlier on Friday, US President Donald Trump told reporters before heading to a dinner at his Sterling, Virginia, golf course: “We’ll hear from them supposedly tonight,” on whether Washington had gotten Tehran’s take on the conflict-ending proposal.
Pressed on potential deliberate delays by Iran, Trump responded: “We’ll find out soon enough.”
This followed Rubio’s remarks in Rome, where he was touring Italy and the Vatican against a backdrop of US-Europe strains. “We should know something today,” Rubio said of the expected Iranian reply to the de-escalation plan, voicing hope for “a serious offer.”
“We have not received that yet, as of the last hour,” Rubio noted, suggesting Iran’s domestic issues might be slowing things. “Their system is still highly fractured, and it’s dysfunctional as well, so that may be serving as an impediment,” he added.
Rubio expressed optimism the response could spark “a serious process of negotiation.”
On Thursday, addressing queries about what some called a “one-page proposal,” Trump retorted: “Well, it’s more than a one-page offer. It’s an offer that basically said they will not have nuclear weapons; they are going to hand us the nuclear dust and many other things that we want.”
When asked if Iranian leaders had accepted those terms, Trump cautioned: “They have agreed. When they agree, it doesn’t mean much because the next day they forget they agreed,” he said, adding: “And you know, we’re dealing with different sets of leaders.”
