US Rejects Latest Iran Peace Proposal, Though Trump Stops War to Reach Nuclear Deal

The US, on Monday (May 18, 2026) again rejected a fresh Iranian peace proposal, even as President Trump claimed he stopped the resumption of war after Tehran signalled a deal was possible on its nuclear programme.

Meanwhile, Pakistan sent its Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi to Tehran to thrash out a deal, even as Islamabad, playing mediator, failed to bring the two sides to the negotiation table after the first round of talks it hosted in mid-April failed to reach an agreement.

In Tehran, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) claimed its forces struck groups linked to the US and Israel in the western province of Kurdistan, near the border with Iraq.

American media reports claimed Tehran had offered a revised peace plan for negotiations with Washington, but the White House shot it down. Iranians had communicated the proposal through Pakistan.

The fresh proposals from Iran, the reports said, were “close” to what Trump had wanted to achieve in the latest West Asian conflict that began on February 28 after the US and Israel launched airstrikes on Iranian territory.

On Sunday (May 17), Trump had warned Tehran that the “clock is ticking” as their negotiations to end the war faced a stalemate. “For Iran, the Clock is Ticking, and they better get moving, FAST, or there won’t be anything left of them. TIME IS OF THE ESSENCE,” Trump said on Truth Social.

Trump had last week declined an Iranian response to the US peace proposals, calling it “totally unacceptable” for Tehran to seek to delink the nuclear programme talks from ending the war and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.

Trump is facing trouble in the US Congress, as Democrats are planning a resolution to end the Iran war, with help from some Republicans opposed to the US President. In recent weeks, more Republicans have aligned with the Democrats during discussions on resolutions under the 1973 War Powers Act.

Meanwhile, Mohsin Naqvi rushed to Tehran to meet with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi just a day after he returned to Islamabad carrying Iran’s latest peace proposals to be conveyed to the US. The US later called Tehran’s proposals “insufficient.”

Naqvi’s latest visit is part of the backchannel talks to bring the US and Iran to the negotiations in Islamabad once again after the failed mid-April talks hosted by Pakistan.

Naqvi emerging as the key mediation figure in the Iran-US imbroglio has resulted in political debates within Pakistan on the absence of Prime Minister Shebaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in the diplomatic efforts, while Army chief Asim Munir is taking the lead.

Meanwhile, Trump claimed he paused the resumption of military operations against Iran after Tehran sent the latest peace proposals. This, Trump said, indicated there was a “very good chance” of a deal on the Iranian nuclear programme.

Trump said he had instructed the US military that “we will NOT be doing the scheduled attack of Iran tomorrow, but have further instructed them to be prepared to go forward with a full, large-scale assault of Iran, on a moment’s notice, if an acceptable Deal is not reached.”

In ⁠his social media post, he said the leaders of Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates had requested that he hold off on the attack because “a Deal will be made, which will be very acceptable to the United States of America, as well as all Countries in the Middle East, and beyond.”

In Tehran, the IRGC claimed its attacks on the groups linked to the US and Israel last weekend were because they were “acting on behalf of the US and the Zionist regime” when they attempted to smuggle a large shipment of American weapons and ammunition into Iranian territory.

In a statement, the IRGC said the operation targeted the city of Baneh in the Kurdistan region. The announcement came as Iran said diplomatic exchanges with Washington continue over efforts to end the ongoing war, despite differences over key demands.