Iran Gets US Reply to Peace Plan as Rubio Expulsion Row Erupts

Iranian officials say they have received an official American response to Tehran’s latest proposal for ending the seven-month war, and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi presented it to President Masoud Pezeshkian at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, the Associated Press reported. The officials did not say what the response contained or whether it was a rejection. The news came as US officials said Secretary of State Marco Rubio had ordered Iran’s UN delegation to leave New York, an account Iran’s UN mission rejects.

“At today’s cabinet meeting, the American side’s proposal was presented to President Masoud Pezeshkian by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi,” government spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani told the official IRNA news agency, Reuters reported.

Pezeshkian struck a cautiously hopeful tone. “We will make every effort to bring the agreement to fruition and will firmly stand up for the rights of the Iranian people,” he said, according to the Associated Press. “The agreement must now be based on a win-win strategy.”

Qatar carries the messages

Araghchi received the US feedback through Qatari mediators in Doha on Tuesday, on his way back from the UN General Assembly, an official who was not Iranian but was briefed on the talks told Reuters. According to that official, the document outlines a seven-day period of trust-building aimed at returning the two sides to an enhanced version of the memorandum of understanding agreed in June, including concrete steps on Iran’s nuclear programme. The disagreement centres on the sequencing of the steps rather than their content, the official said.

“We are exchanging messages between the parties, and we’re working towards establishing a common ground in order to get into a deal that would save all of us from the repercussions of the conflict,” Qatari foreign ministry spokesman Majed al-Ansari told reporters on Tuesday. In New York, Iranian officials also met Qatari and Pakistani mediators on the sidelines of the General Assembly, the AP reported.

Last week, Araghchi said Iran could reopen the Strait of Hormuz within a week if Washington lifted its blockade of Iranian ports, released frozen Iranian assets and waived sanctions on Iranian oil sales, among other conditions, according to the AP. President Donald Trump rejected the plan on Saturday, saying the offer “would not be acceptable.” On Sunday, US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz told CNN that Tehran had sought sanctions relief and access to frozen assets before any talks on its nuclear programme. “They were asking for everything up front,” Waltz said.

A dispute over the exit from New York

Axios reported, citing a US official and a second source, that Rubio demanded on Monday that the Iranian delegation leave the country immediately after negotiations stalled. According to the US official, the US mission to the UN passed the instruction to Iran’s mission on Monday evening, and Araghchi and his team boarded a flight from New York to Doha at 1:20am on Tuesday. “Secretary Rubio kicked out the Iranian delegation who had overstayed their welcome,” the official was quoted as saying. The second source told Axios that Araghchi had been scheduled to travel back to Tehran on Monday night anyway. Two US officials gave the AP a similar account.

Iran’s mission to the UN rejected that version of events. “The Iranian delegation left New York on Monday evening, in accordance with the schedule that had also been communicated to the US Department of State in advance on September 17,” the mission said in a statement, according to Anadolu Agency. It accused the State Department of “propagating baseless and worthless news.”

Trump: deal or strikes

Trump’s public message remained blunt. Asked by reporters on Wednesday how he could reach a deal with Tehran, Trump said: “We will blow 'em up or make a deal. But the time is coming. It's gonna end very soon one way or the other,” according to Axios.

The war began on 28 February, when the US and Israel launched strikes on Iran. Tehran responded with missile and drone attacks across the region and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, a key route for global energy supplies, Anadolu Agency reported. The June memorandum led to a brief ceasefire and included provisions on the strait and Iran’s nuclear programme, according to Reuters.

What to watch

Some analysts say the main remaining gap is about timing rather than substance. Luciano Zaccara of Georgetown University in Qatar told Al Jazeera that the United States does not appear to dispute “what they are going to discuss,” but rather how the sequence of an agreement would be implemented. The next signals are likely to be Iran’s formal answer to the US response and whether Qatar can arrange further talks. Any deal is expected to hinge on reopening the Strait of Hormuz.