Iran war: Tehran sets own terms to end war, rejects US plan

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has again said Tehran did not plan to negotiate with the United States and that Iran would keep fighting.

"At present, our policy is the continuation of resistance", Araghchi said on state TV. "We do not intend to negotiate — so far, no negotiations have taken place, and I believe our position is completely principled."

"Speaking of negotiations now is an admission of defeat," he added

The announcement on Iranian state TV came after US President Trump said Washington had proposed a peace plan and following a report of Iranian conditions for a stop to the fighting.

Iran war timeline 'approximately four to six weeks,' White House says

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the timeline for the war remains four to six weeks when asked if the conflict will end before President Donald Trump's rescheduled trip to China in May.

"Again, as I've said, we’ve always estimated approximately four to six weeks. So, you could do the math on that," Leavitt said during a press briefing at the White House.

Leavitt said Trump will travel to Beijing for a rescheduled summit with Chinese President Xi Jinping on May 14 and 15.

Trump had been scheduled to travel to China later this month, but he previously announced he was delaying the trip so he could be in Washington to help steward the US and Israeli war against Iran.

The United States and Israel launched the airstrikes that began the ongoing war on February 28.

White House says more strikes to come if Iranian talks are unproductive

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said US forces were "very close to meeting the core objectives" of the military action against Iran.

She told reporters that "productive conversations" with Iran were ongoing but stressed more strikes could come if they're unsuccessful. 

"If Iran fails to accept the reality of the current moment, if they fail to understand that they have been defeated militarily ... Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before," Leavitt said at a briefing on Wednesday.

"President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell," she said. "Iran should not miscalculate again."

White House maintains silence on who US is negotiating with in Iran

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt declined to identify which Iranian or Iranians the Trump administration is negotiating with.

She cautioned journalists about "reporting about speculative points or speculative plans from anonymous sources."

"The White House never confirmed that full plan," Leavitt said, adding that "there are elements of truth to it, but some of the stories I read were not entirely factual."

President Trump said earlier this week that both the United States and Iran were "keen" to end the war. But Iran has denied having any direct talks with the US.

The Trump administration also set up indirect talks by compiling a 15-point ceasefire plan and having had that delivered to the Islamic Republic via Pakistan, The New York Times reported.

Iran has rejected the proposal, state media Press TV reported citing an anonymous official.

Pakistan, Egypt and Turkey have each offered to broker a ceasefire in the region so far. 

Tehran issues a counterproposal to end war

Iran will not allow the United States to dictate the terms to end the war, Iranian state television's English-language broadcaster, Press TV, reported.

"Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met," Press TV quoted an anonymous official as saying.

Iran said it will continue fighting until:

• Aggression and acts of assassination come to an end.
• Objective conditions are established to ensure that the war will not recur.
• The payment of damages and war reparations is guaranteed and clearly determined.
• The end of the war is implemented across all fronts and all resistance groups involved in this conflict throughout the region.
• Iran's exercise of sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz is its natural and legal right, and guarantees for the implementation of the other party's commitments must be recognized.