Trump says he is not satisfied with Iran’s proposal as Pakistan shuttles messages
Donald Trump said he was not satisfied with Iran’s latest proposal to end the war with the United States, even as Pakistan relayed new messages between Tehran and Washington in a bid to keep fragile diplomacy alive.
“Right now, we have talks going on, they’re not getting there,” Trump told reporters, adding that his options remained “either blast them away or make a deal.” He did not detail his objections, saying only: “They’re asking for things I can’t agree to.” Trump also waved off a Friday deadline set by the War Powers Act, which requires a president to seek congressional authorization to continue hostilities beyond 60 days.
In a letter to congressional leaders, he argued the White House did not need approval because a ceasefire agreement forged with Iran had effectively paused the 60‑day clock — an interpretation disputed by many legal experts.
He further suggested the Vietnam war‑era law was “unconstitutional.” Iranian state media reported that Tehran handed its offer to Pakistan on Thursday night to pass on to Washington, though the contents were not immediately clear. The initiative was initially seen in Islamabad as a product of its energetic back‑channel diplomacy.
With momentum behind direct talks stalled, Pakistan has shifted to the urgent task of ferrying messages. Islamabad has said it believes a deal is within reach, even as it contends with Iranian officials at risk of overplaying their hand and a US administration seeking total victory rather than compromise.
Pakistani officials say they are acutely aware that not only regional peace is at stake, but also the health of the global economy and the livelihoods of millions of the poorest — including in Pakistan, where the monthly energy import bill has almost tripled because of the war.
The decision in Tehran to route proposals through Pakistan followed internal debate over whether to stay on a diplomatic path or lean on leverage from the ad hoc blockade of the Strait of Hormuz. Iranian officials hope Trump will want to end the conflict before his summit with Xi Jinping, the Chinese president, on 14 and 15 May.
Islamabad views the continuation of the ceasefire — now in place for more than three weeks — as a major achievement. Both Tehran and Washington have said Pakistan remains the primary conduit for negotiation. After a breakthrough in April that brought US and Iranian officials into the same room in Islamabad for an all‑night session — the highest‑level engagement since the 1979 revolution — both sides hardened their positions.
According to Tehran, those talks nearly produced a deal before the US abruptly walked out. Washington said Iran was not prepared to go far enough. An attempt to engineer a second round in Islamabad last weekend fell apart after the Iranian side refused to meet the US team, which was ready to fly in.
US officials briefed this week that Washington was considering returning to war. Some voices in Iran, meanwhile, have expressed frustration that Pakistan has not been able to hold the US to commitments given in the negotiations. Masood Khan, Pakistan’s former ambassador to the US, said Islamabad has been doing more than transmitting messages.
He said Pakistan’s intervention led to an initial two‑week ceasefire and to the US‑Iran meeting with Pakistani officials acting as referees. He added that Islamabad persuaded Trump to extend the ceasefire, which now has no stated deadline, and described the next task as convincing both sides to simultaneously lift their blockades on the Strait of Hormuz.
But Trump said this week the blockade was more effective than bombing, while Iran’s supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, hailed a “new chapter” for the strait — signs that neither side is ready to back down.