Tehran Dismisses Cease-Fire Offer but Signals Openness to Talks

 

Iran War Live Updates: Tehran Dismisses Cease-Fire Offer but Signals Openness to Talks

Israel is concerned that the war might end before it can dismantle Iran’s weapons programs, two senior Israeli officials said, and plans to ramp up its attacks.

 

Updated

March 25, 2026, 3:43 p.m. ET58 minutes ago

Eric Schmitt Elian Peltier Adam Rasgon and Abdi Latif Dahir

https://www.nytimes.com/live/2026/03/25/world/iran-war-trump-oil-news

 

Here’s the latest.

Iran on Wednesday publicly dismissed President Trump’s proposal for a cease-fire, with a military spokesman and a report in state media insisting that the conflict would end only on Tehran’s terms.

 

But with Iranian officials nevertheless signaling privately that they are open to negotiations, raising the prospect of a cessation in hostilities, Israel moved to step up its efforts to destroy as much of Iran’s military capabilities as possible.

 

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered a 48-hour campaign of attacks focused on crippling Iran’s arms industry, according to two senior Israeli officials and two people briefed on the matter. Israeli leaders remain concerned that Mr. Trump might end the war before they achieved their goals of dismantling Iran’s ballistic missile program and blocking its ability to develop nuclear programs.

 

It was unclear, however, how close any peace deal might be.

 

Press TV, Iran’s state-run English broadcaster, quoted an anonymous senior Iranian official as rejecting Mr. Trump’s proposal to end the war. The United States has sent Iran a 15-point plan to end the hostilities in the Middle East, according to two officials briefed on the diplomacy.

 

The Iranian official said that Tehran would not allow Mr. Trump “to dictate the timing of the war’s end.” The official instead declared Iran’s own conditions, including reparations for war damage and recognition of Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, the broadcaster reported.

 

A day earlier, Iranian officials had signaled that they would consider meeting U.S. negotiators in Pakistan over the next week to discuss Mr. Trump’s proposal but would not entertain talks about a temporary cease-fire.

 

Speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomacy, they said Iran did not want a pause in the fighting because they feared that Israel and the United States would use the time to beef up their forces before resuming strikes.

 

Washington also has been sending mixed signals on de-escalation. The Pentagon ordered the deployment of about 2,000 more soldiers to the Middle East, two officials said on Tuesday, bringing recent deployments to the region to nearly 7,000.

 

Here’s what else we’re covering:

Carrier attacked: Iran’s military said Wednesday that it had fired cruise missiles at the U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln, according to the Iranian semiofficial Mehr news agency, hours after an Iranian naval commander warned it would strike if the vessel came within range. Mr. Trump said Tuesday that more than 100 missiles had been launched at the carrier but that “every single one of them was knocked down.”

 

Strait of Hormuz: The U.S. proposal also discusses maritime routes. Iran has told the United Nations’ maritime organization that “nonhostile” ships — those not supporting aggression against it or belonging to the United States or Israel — may pass safely. Shipping analysts said Iran’s offer is unlikely to persuade major tanker operators to enter the waterway.

 

Fighting in Lebanon: The Israeli military struck the southern outskirts of Beirut, a stronghold of the Iranian-backed group Hezbollah, as well as several towns in the south, Lebanon’s National News Agency said. Israel also said it had targeted gas stations tied to Hezbollah’s financial network.

 

Tension in Iraq: Iraq’s prime minister instructed the foreign ministry to summon the U.S. Embassy’s chargé d’affaires and deliver a “strongly worded letter of protest.” It came after a strike that the defense ministry said killed seven soldiers and injured 13 on Wednesday at a site in western Iraq belonging to the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella organization for militias that include Iran-backed brigades. It was unclear who was responsible for the attacks, but the groups’ attacks on U.S. forces have prompted retaliatory strikes.

 

Death tolls: Iran’s U.N. ambassador has said that at least 1,348 civilians have been killed in the country since the war began — a toll that has not been updated since March 11. The Human Rights Activists News Agency has reported that more than 1,440 civilians have been killed in Iran. Almost 1,100 people in Lebanon have been killed, the authorities there said on Wednesday. At least 15 people were killed in Iranian attacks on Israel, officials said. The American death toll stands at 13 service members.