From Reuters last night:
March 24, 2026 8:49 PM PDT Updated 2 hours ago
DUBAI/TEL AVIV, March 25 (Reuters) - Pakistan has delivered a proposal from the United States to Iran, and either Pakistan or Turkey could be venues for discussions to de-escalate the war in the Gulf, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on Wednesday.The comments, by an official speaking on condition of anonymity, were among the few signs that Tehran was willing to consider diplomatic proposals, despite having denied in public that it would negotiate with the administration of President Donald Trump.The Reuters Iran Briefing newsletter keeps you informed with the latest developments and analysis of the Iran war. Sign up here.
The Iranian source did not disclose details of the proposal passed on by Pakistan, or whether it was the same as a 15-point U.S. proposal that has been reported by news outlets including Reuters. The source said Turkey had also "helped to end the war and either Turkey or Pakistan was under consideration as the venue for such talks".Oil prices fell and battered shares recovered on Wednesday after reports that the U.S. had sent the 15-point plan to Iran, with investors hoping for an end to nearly four weeks of war that has killed thousands and disrupted global energy supplies.A source familiar with the matter had confirmed on Tuesday to Reuters that the plan had been sent to Iran.Three Israeli cabinet sources said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet had been briefed on the proposal, which they said includes removing Iran's stocks of highly enriched uranium, halting enrichment, curbing its ballistic missile programme and ending funding for regional allies.Meanwhile, the Pentagon is planning to send thousands of airborne troops to the Gulf to give Trump more options to order a ground assault, sources have told Reuters, adding to two contingents of Marines already on their way. The first Marine Expeditionary Unit aboard a huge amphibious assault ship could arrive around the end of the month.
TURKEY PLAYING A ROLE PASSING MESSAGES
Iran's neighbour Pakistan has already offered to host talks to be attended by senior U.S. officials as soon as this week. A senior ruling party official in Turkey, Harun Armagan, told Reuters on Wednesday that Ankara was "playing a role passing messages" between Iran and the U.S.But so far there has been no public recognition from Iran that it is willing to negotiate at all, while its assertions that it would not do so have become increasingly caustic."Has the level of your inner struggle reached the stage of you negotiating with yourself?" the top spokesperson for Iran's joint military command, Ebrahim Zolfaqari, taunted Trump in comments on Iranian state TV....
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