US President Donald Trump sharply rejected Iran’s latest response to a US-backed peace proposal on Sunday, describing Tehran’s position as “totally unacceptable” and signalling that diplomatic efforts between Washington and Tehran remain highly fragile despite ongoing backchannel communication.
The remarks came only hours after Iranian officials reportedly conveyed their formal response to the American proposal through Pakistan. Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif later confirmed that Islamabad had acted as an intermediary in transmitting Tehran’s message to Washington.
Reacting publicly on his social media platform Truth Social, Trump dismissed Iran’s response in blunt terms. He wrote that he had reviewed the reply from what he described as Iran’s “so-called representatives” and stated that he found the response completely unacceptable. His comments immediately raised fresh doubts over whether diplomatic negotiations between the two countries could move forward.
Iranian state television later reported that Tehran had rejected the latest American proposal aimed at ending the ongoing conflict, arguing that the offer effectively amounted to surrender under US conditions. According to Iranian media reports, Tehran viewed the proposal as heavily one-sided and unacceptable within the current geopolitical situation.
The Iranian response reportedly focused on broader regional issues, particularly ending the conflict in Lebanon and guaranteeing secure navigation through the Strait of Hormuz, one of the world’s most strategically important oil shipping routes. However, Iranian officials reportedly did not clarify when or how the strait could fully reopen to normal commercial activity.
The American proposal had reportedly suggested first ending military hostilities before moving toward more controversial and complicated issues, including Iran’s nuclear programme and uranium enrichment activities.
Rather than signalling a diplomatic breakthrough, Trump instead intensified his warnings toward Iran during a television interview aired on Sunday. He claimed that Iran had already suffered a major defeat during the conflict but warned that the United States remained fully prepared to expand military operations if negotiations collapsed.
Trump stated that American forces had already completed “probably 70 percent” of their intended military targets inside Iran and suggested that the remaining objectives could be destroyed within two additional weeks if necessary. He made clear that while he believed Iran had been significantly weakened, he did not consider the conflict completely finished.
During the interview, Trump was asked whether he believed combat operations were now effectively over. In response, he clarified that although Iran had been defeated militarily in his view, the war itself could still continue if Washington chose to escalate operations further.
Trump also delivered another strong warning regarding Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium, which remains one of the most difficult issues blocking negotiations over a permanent settlement to the 10-week conflict involving the United States, Israel and Iran.
The US President claimed that American intelligence and surveillance systems were continuously monitoring Iran’s enriched uranium facilities and warned that any attempt to move or access the material would immediately be detected by US forces.
Referring to the surveillance capabilities of the United States Space Force, Trump stated that American authorities were closely observing the area and claimed they could identify anyone approaching the facilities in extraordinary detail, including personal information and identification details.
He then issued a direct threat, warning that if anyone attempted to approach the uranium storage areas, the United States would know immediately and respond militarily.
The comments came amid continuing uncertainty regarding the location of Iran’s enriched uranium stockpile. International reports have suggested that some of the material may still be buried beneath nuclear facilities that were bombed by the United States during military operations in June 2025. Tehran has not publicly disclosed the current location or condition of the uranium.
According to international estimates, Iran currently possesses more than 400 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity. Nuclear experts note that uranium enriched to approximately 90 percent purity can potentially be used in the development of nuclear weapons.
Trump has repeatedly demanded that Iran completely dismantle its uranium enrichment programme and transfer its enriched uranium stockpile out of the country. Tehran, however, has strongly rejected those demands and insists that uranium enrichment remains its sovereign right under international law.
Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that they will not surrender their nuclear material or abandon enrichment activities under foreign pressure. Last month, Trump claimed that Iran had agreed to allow the United States to retrieve the uranium stockpile and transport it to America, but Iranian authorities quickly denied the assertion.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei responded at the time by declaring that enriched uranium was “as sacred to us as Iranian soil” and insisted that it would not be transferred anywhere under any circumstances.
Trump also used another lengthy Truth Social post to attack former US President Barack Obama and criticise the 2015 nuclear agreement formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action or JCPOA.
He accused the Obama administration of empowering Iran through the agreement and argued that Tehran had spent decades “playing games” with Washington while previous American administrations responded with weakness.
The JCPOA had originally restricted Iran’s uranium enrichment to 3.67 percent purity in exchange for sanctions relief and expanded economic access to global markets. Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement during his first presidential term and reimposed sanctions on Iran, arguing that the deal failed to permanently prevent Tehran from pursuing nuclear weapons capability.
Although a formal ceasefire technically came into effect last month, tensions across the Gulf region have remained extremely volatile. Several incidents and flare-ups have continued to occur near the Strait of Hormuz and Iranian port areas, while both the United States and Iran have maintained naval restrictions and blockades targeting Iranian-linked shipping activity.
