Iran has delivered its response to the latest U.S. amendments to a draft plan to end the war, a regional source confirmed to Axios. The move signals the diplomatic channel is not entirely frozen. Iranian state media also reported the response was delivered to the U.S. on Thursday via Pakistani mediators.
The development comes as President Trump maintains a U.S. naval blockade and considers new military action against Iran. Last weekend, Iran gave the U.S. a proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz and end the war, with nuclear negotiations postponed for a later stage.
On Monday, White House envoy Steve Witkoff sent a list of amendments that focus on inserting the nuclear issue back into the draft text, according to a source with knowledge. One of the amendments included a demand that Iran commit not to try to move any enriched uranium out of its bombed nuclear facilities, or restart any activity at those sites, as long as negotiations continue.
"Nobody knows what the talks are except myself and a couple of other people," one official said, according to Axios. "They want to make a deal badly. We have a problem because nobody knows for sure who the lead is." This uncertainty underscores the opacity of the negotiating process.
The immediate next steps remain unclear, with the U.S. blockade and potential military action creating high stakes. The Iranian response could either keep diplomacy on life support or collapse if the two sides cannot bridge their core differences on sequencing of sanctions relief, oil exports, and nuclear constraints.