Senior U.S. Official: Iran's Latest Proposal Not Sufficient to Reach Agreement

May 18 — U.S. media outlet AXIOS reports, citing a senior U.S. official and an insider, that Iran has submitted an updated ceasefire proposal. But the White House views this plan as lacking substantive improvements and insufficient to reach a workable agreement. A separate U.S. official added that while Trump wants to finalize a deal to end the conflict, Iran has rejected many of his key demands and refused to make meaningful concessions on its nuclear program. As a result, Trump is considering resuming military action. These officials noted that if Iran doesn’t adjust its position, the U.S. will have to “negotiate with bombs.” “The truth is, we haven’t made much real progress here,” the senior U.S. official told AXIOS. “The Iranians need to show some sincerity. We need a genuine, robust, detailed dialogue focused on their nuclear program. If that kind of dialogue can’t happen, we’ll have to have that conversation through bombs — and that would be deeply regrettable.”