U.S. Pushes For 15-Point Peace Plan With Iran As Trump Declares Iran “Defeated”
President Trump has set a new deadline for when the U.S. is going to bomb Iran’s energy plants, if Iran does not open the Strait of Hormuz– the crucial waterway where about 20 percent of the world’s oil flows through.
President Trump wrote on Truth Social that, “per Iranian Government request,” he’s going to “pause the period of Energy Plant destruction by 10 Days to Monday, April 6, 2026, at 8 P.M., Eastern Time.”
Earlier in the day on Thursday, during his Cabinet meeting, Trump said that Iran is looking to make a deal with the United States because it has been “beat to shit.” He said, "They are begging to make a deal. Not me," he said.
TRUMP’S WORDS: Speaking to reporters, Trump claimed the Iranian regime has been “decisively defeated” and “obliterated.”
He suggested recent U.S. actions have pressured Iran into negotiations, despite public denials from Iranian officials. Iran has acknowledged that messages with demands have been passed to the U.S. through Pakistan, but does not define that as "negotiations."
DEAL OR NO DEAL
U.S. special envoy Steve Witkoff said Thursday that the U.S. has presented Iran with a 15-point plan for a potential peace proposal, and there are “strong signs” Iran is willing to negotiate. It’s the first time the Trump administration has publicly talked about the plan. Witkoff said Iran is “looking for an offramp,” after recent U.S. pressure.
BUT, WAIT: On Wednesday, the Iranian regime publicly rejected the Trump administration’s proposed 15-point plan to end the war, calling the terms “excessive” and signaling the war would only end “on Tehran’s own terms and timeline,” according to state media.
The U.S. proposal includes sweeping demands on the Islamic Republic — such as ending all uranium enrichment, dismantling key nuclear sites, limiting missile capabilities, and cutting support for proxy terrorist groups like Hamas in Gaza, Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Houthis in Yemen. The demands go far beyond the limited uranium enrichment deal the Obama administration had with Iran.
IRAN’S PLAN: The regime outlined its own five conditions for a ceasefire, which include a full halt to U.S. and Israeli attacks, full compensation from the US and Israel for damage they caused, ending strikes against allied terror groups like Hezbollah in the region, and international recognition for the first time for what it believes is its authority over the Strait of Hormuz.
Witkoff emphasized that while the U.S. prefers peace, officials have delivered a clear message to Tehran: “Don’t miscalculate again.”
WHAT’S NEXT
Trump raised the possibility of targeting and seizing Iran’s oil sector, calling it “an option,” while pointing to past U.S. economic arrangements with Venezuela as a model for potential future strategy.
Iran has some of the largest oil and gas assets in the world, but the U.S. and most of the West have had sanctions on them for decades.
However, the U.S. has eased some sanctions on Iranian oil during the conflict to stabilize global energy markets and bring down prices.
Trump maintains the U.S. operation, which began Feb. 28, is ahead of schedule. He is reportedly pushing to stick with his original four- to six-week timeline for the war, which would mean the war would be wrapped by the time he heads to Beijing in mid-May for a summit with Chinese leader Xi Jinping.
