Iran rejects ceasefire as Trump's warning nears deadline

Iran said on Monday it wanted a lasting end to the war with the US and Israel, and pushed back against pressure to swiftly reopen the Strait of Hormuz under a temporary ceasefire.

Iran conveyed its response to the US proposal for ending the war to Pakistan, rejecting a ceasefire and emphasizing the necessity of a permanent end to the war, the official IRNA news agency said on Monday.

The Iranian response consisted of 10 clauses, including an end to conflicts in the region, a protocol for safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz, lifting of sanctions, and reconstruction, the agency added.

President Donald Trump, who has threatened to launch further strikes on Tehran if it did not make a deal by 8 p.m. EDT Tuesday (midnight GMT) to open the vital route for global energy supplies, rejected the Iranian proposal on Monday and said his deadline was final.

Iran responded to US and Israeli attacks in February by effectively closing Hormuz, a conduit for about a fifth of the world's oil and natural gas supply. The waterway’s stranglehold on the global economy has proved a powerful Iranian bargaining chip and on Monday it showed reluctance to relinquish it too easily.

The Pakistani-brokered framework for ending the war emerged from intense overnight contacts and proposes an immediate ceasefire, followed by talks on a broader peace settlement to be concluded within 15 to 20 days, a source aware of the proposals said on Monday.

Iran also threatened to avenge a US-Israeli attack early Monday on Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, one of the country's top science institutions, where Iran's WANA news agency said an artificial intelligence data centre and other facilities were damaged.

“Aggressors will see our might” in response to the Sharif bombing, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Aragchi said on X. Iran's science minister has accused the United States and Israel of attacking some 30 universities in the war.

RESCUE MISSION

At the news conference, Trump and Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth praised the successful weekend retrieval from Iran of a US airman whose jet was shot down on Friday.

The rescue mission came amid rising concern about the nearly six-week-long war's effect on the global economy, including a sharp rise in fuel prices. The conflict has also hit Trump's approval ratings and intensified anxiety among Republicans about November's midterm elections.

Further aerial strikes were reported across the region on Monday. Hegseth said Monday would have the most strikes since the start of the war, and Tuesday would see even more.

Iranian state media said the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence chief, Majid Khademi, had died. Israel claimed responsibility for his death.

Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to destroy Iran’s infrastructure and hunt down its leaders "one by one". The Israeli military also said it had targeted Iran's air force through a series of strikes on the Bahram, Mehrabad, and Azmayesh airports.

Iran said two of its petrochemical complexes were attacked.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the strike on the petrochemical facility in southern Iran was part of dismantling Iran's Revolutionary Guards "money machine".

FIGHTING BACK

Iran's attack on an Israeli-linked vessel and weekend strikes on petrochemical facilities in Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE underscored the country's ability to fight back despite Trump's repeated claims to have knocked out its missile and drone capabilities.

Israel saw a heavy day of rocket volleys on Monday, with the sounds of sirens and missile interception booms ringing out across the country throughout the day.

Thousands of people have been killed across the Middle East in the Iran war, including 3,546 in Iran, US-based rights group HRANA said, and nearly 1,500 in Lebanon.

Israel has invaded southern Lebanon and struck Beirut in a fight against Hezbollah that has become the war's most violent spillover.

Thirteen US service members have died.