President Donald Trump reportedly has a draft peace agreement with Israel and regional allies on Wednesday.
It would be a historic end to the 90-day Iran war, despite Tehran having just declared it will never surrender what Trump has called the non-negotiables.
According to reports, the draft text was sent to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and allied governments over the course of Wednesday and was the centerpiece of a Trump-Netanyahu phone call that night. It remains unclear whether Iran has signed the peace document.
Whatever the text contains, Iran’s answer came swiftly. Ebrahim Azizi, head of Iran’s parliamentary national security committee, declared on X that Iran’s red lines include its right to enrich uranium, the right to maintain stockpiles of enriched uranium, and continued Iranian control over the Strait of Hormuz.
He also demanded a full lifting of all U.S. sanctions against Iran, and accused Trump of seeking a deal “in order to save himself” from what he called the “strategic deadlock” in negotiations.
Trump had a classic, blunt response.
Speaking at a Cabinet meeting Wednesday, the president said Iran was “negotiating on fumes” and said Tehran was trying to run out the clock.
“Iran is very much intent, they want very much to make a deal — so far they haven’t gotten there,” Trump said.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio has repeatedly stated that preventing Iran from ever obtaining a nuclear weapon is the administration’s top priority and a prerequisite for any agreement. Trump has said Iran must turn over its enriched uranium stockpiles and accept dismantlement of its nuclear program.
On Hormuz control, Rubio has been equally direct: no deal will allow Iran to control the waterway or charge vessels tolls for passage.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, whose signature would be required to finalize any deal, remains in hiding following the February 28 U.S.-Israeli strikes that killed his father and dozens of top officials.
On the ground, the shooting continues. Iran launched a missile toward Kuwait late Wednesday night, which Kuwaiti forces shot down. CENTCOM called it an “egregious ceasefire violation.” Hours earlier, Iranian forces launched five attack drones at positions near the Strait of Hormuz, which were all intercepted by U.S. forces.
Israel, meanwhile, struck more than 100 Hezbollah terrorist targets in Lebanon on Thursday, including weapons storage facilities and command centers in the Beqaa Valley. The Lebanon fight remains one of Netanyahu’s sharpest objections to a peace deal.