Iran has sent its response to a US proposal to end the war in the region via Pakistan, Iranian state media reported on Sunday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Islamic Republic of Iran sent today through Pakistani mediators its response to the latest text proposed by the United States to end the war,\u201d the official IRNA<\/em> news agency said.<\/p>\n Iranian news agency ISNA<\/em> reported that Tehran\u2019s response to the latest US peace proposal focuses on \u201cending the war and maritime security\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cIt should be noted that the main focus of Iran\u2019s response to the US proposal is on \u2018ending the war and maritime security\u2019 in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz,\u201d the ISNA<\/em> news agency said, without offering further details.<\/p>\n Iran had been reviewing the 14-point proposal from the US for formally ending hostilities and opening a 30-day negotiating window for detailed discussions on Iran\u2019s nuclear programme, sanctions relief and secure transit through the Strait of Hormuz.<\/p>\n Tehran has largely blocked non-Iranian shipping through the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which before the \u200bwar carried one-fifth of the world\u2019s oil supply and has emerged as one of the central pressure points in the war.<\/p>\n Diplomatic sources earlier confirmed that the proposal had been conveyed to Tehran through Pakistani mediators.<\/p>\n With US President Donald Trump due to visit China this week, there has been mounting pressure to draw a line under the war, which \u200bhas ignited a global energy crisis and poses a growing threat to the world economy.<\/p>\n Trump had said on Friday that he was expecting<\/a> Iran\u2019s response to Washington\u2019s proposal for a deal to extend a fragile truce and launch peace talks \u2014 \u201csupposedly tonight\u201d.<\/p>\n Earlier, he had also announced<\/a> the suspension of \u2018Project Freedom\u2019, the US naval plan to escort commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz, citing progress in talks and requests from Pakistan and others, while maintaining the broader naval blockade of Iranian ports.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Pakistan had also expressed<\/a> optimism that the United States and Iran could soon move towards a peace agreement.<\/p>\n At the weekly media briefing on Thursday, Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andrabi said Isla\u00admabad expected an agreement \u201csoo\u00ad\u00adner rather than later\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cWe remain optimistic. A simple answer would be that we expect an agreement sooner rather than later,\u201d he said. \u201cWe hope that the parties will come to a peaceful, sustainable solution and bring peace, not just to our region but internationally as well.\u201d<\/p>\n Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar also spoke<\/a> with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi earlier this week amid indications that Washington and Tehran were edging closer to a preliminary understanding on ending hostilities.<\/p>\n But the optimism dimmed on Friday when a US fighter jet fired on and disabled two Iranian-flagged tankers that Washington accused of challenging its naval blockade of Iran\u2019s ports. An Iranian military official told local media the country\u2019s navy had responded \u201cto American terrorism with strikes\u201d and that \u201cthe clashes have now ceased\u201d.<\/p>\n The latest incident came after a previous flare-up overnight Thursday to Friday in the Strait of Hormuz, which Iran is seeking to control to extract tolls from foreign vessels and wield economic leverage over the US and its allies.<\/p>\n On Sunday, Iran\u2019s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps threatened to target US sites in the Middle East and \u201cenemy ships\u201d if its tankers come under fire, Iranian media reported.<\/p>\n \u201cAny attack on Iranian tankers and commercial vessels will result in a heavy attack on one of the American centres in the region and enemy ships,\u201d it said, a day after US attacks against two Iranian tankers in the Gulf of Oman.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Iranian state television reported that the head of the military central command, Ali Abdollahi, had met with the country\u2019s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been seen in public since his appointment in March.<\/p>\n Khamenei issued \u201cnew directives and guidance for the continuation of operations to confront the enemy\u201d, state TV said, without specifying when the meeting took place.<\/p>\n The conflict between the US and Iran began more than two months ago when the US and Israel launched<\/a> strikes in Iran on February 28.<\/p>\n While a deal for a complete end to the war is yet to happen, the hostilities have largely ceased since the two sides agreed on a Pakistan-brokered ceasefire <\/a>on April 8.<\/p>\n Following the truce, a first round of historic direct US-Iran talks<\/u><\/a> was held in Islamabad on April 11 and 12, with Pakistan playing the role of a mediator. The talks had ended without an agreement, but also without a breakdown<\/u><\/a>.<\/u><\/p>\n With challenges in convening a second round, Islamabad has shifted back to its role as a facilitator and go-between.<\/p>\n