Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has not yet responded to the latest proposal submitted by the United States, two sources familiar with the matter told The Jerusalem Post.
Khamenei still has to respond to the previous draft Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreed upon by the Iranian and American negotiators last Tuesday.
The latest proposal sent by the United States, which was shared with the Israeli 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.
“This has become a game of chicken between Tehran and Washington: 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?” an Israeli source told the Post.
Ghalibaf, Araghchi contradict Trump's statements
A series of statements from top Iranian officials, including Iran's top 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," said Ghalibaf on a Saturday X/Twitter post. "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 added.
Araghchi said earlier on Friday that 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.
In a post on X, Araghchi said he also expressed Iran's solidarity with Oman against any threat.
"We welcome consultation with all neighboring states, added Araghchi.
The Jerusalem Post staff and Reuters contributed to this report.