Iran said 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 as the Americans and the Iranians weighed a framework plan to cease their five-week-old conflict.
Iran conveyed its response to the US proposal for ending the war to Pakistan, rejecting a ceasefire and emphasising the necessity of a permanent end to the war, the official IRNA news agency said.
The Iranian response consisted of ten 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.
US President Donald Trump, who has threatened to rain "hell" on Tehran if it did not make a deal by 8pm EDT Tuesday (1am Irish time) to open the vital route for global energy supplies, rejected the Iranian proposal today and said his deadline was final.
"They made a proposal, and it's a significant proposal. It's a significant step. It's not good enough," Mr Trump told reporters at an annual White House Easter event, referring to Iran.
Iran responded to US and Israeli attacks in February by effectively closing the Strait of 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 today 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.
Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir was in contact "all night long" with US Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi, the source said.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesperson Mr Esmaeil Baghaei said that Tehran's demands "should not be interpreted as a sign of compromise, but rather as a reflection of its confidence in defending its positions".
He added that earlier US demands, such as a 15-point plan, were rejected as "excessive".
Ceasefire proposal 'one of many ideas'
Mr Trump will speak about the ceasefire proposal at a press conference at 1pm ET (6pm Irish time), a White House official told Reuters.
"This is one of many ideas, and (Mr Trump) has not signed off on it. Operation Epic Fury continues," they said, referring to the US name for the operation against Iran.
In a post laden with expletives on his Truth Social platform yesterday, Mr Trump threatened further strikes on Iranian energy and transport infrastructure if Iran failed to make a deal and reopen the Strait by Tuesday.
Anwar Gargash, an adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates, said any settlement must guarantee access through Hormuz.
He warned that a deal that failed to rein in Iran's nuclear programme and its missiles and drones would pave the way for "a more dangerous, more volatile Middle East".
Trump says Tuesday deadline to make a deal with Iran is final
Fresh aerial strikes were reported across the region, more than five weeks since the US and Israel began pounding Iran in a war that has killed thousands and damaged economies by sending oil prices surging.
Iranian state media said the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence chief Majid Khademi has died.
Israel claimed responsibility for his death.
A US-Israeli attack hit the data centre at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran, damaging infrastructure underpinning the country’s national artificial intelligence platform and thousands of other services, Fars News Agency said.
Watch: Drone shows damage after Iranian missile strike in Haifa, Israel
Israel vows to destroy Iran's infrastructure
In a statement, Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz threatened to destroy Iran's infrastructure and hunt down its leaders "one by one".
The Israeli military also said they had targeted Iran's air force through a series of strikes on the Bahram, Mehrabad, and Azmayesh airports over the previous night.
Iran said two of its petrochemical complexes were attacked.
Emergency and firefighting teams brought a blaze under control at the South Pars complex in Asaluyeh, Iran's National Petrochemical Company said. No casualties were reported.
An Israeli attack in mid-March on the South Pars gas field that Iran shares with Qatar prompted an escalation in the war, with Iran striking energy targets across the Middle East.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that the strike on the petrochemical facility in southern Iran was part of dismantling Iran's Revolutionary Guards "money machine".
"Iran is no longer the same Iran, and Israel is no longer the same Israel. Israel is stronger than ever, and the terrorist regime in Iran is weaker than ever," Mr Netanyahu said in a statement.
Mr Trump has repeatedly warned Iran he could expand US strikes to include civilian infrastructure, such as power plants and bridges, attacks that experts say would constitute war crimes.
The Geneva Conventions say that parties involved in military conflict must distinguish between "civilian objects and military objectives", and that attacks on civilian objects are forbidden.
Iran continues to fight back
Iranian weekend strikes on petrochemical facilities and an Israeli-linked vessel in Kuwait, Bahrain and the UAE underscored the country's ability to fight back despite Mr Trump's repeated claims to have knocked out its missile and drone capabilities.
Israel saw a heavy day of rocket volleys today, with the sounds of sirens and missile interception booms ringing out across the country throughout the day.
Israel's military told Reuters there had been 20 missile launches from Lebanon and five from Iran during the day. Several of the attacks resulted in impacts, although it was unclear whether it was from falling missile debris or direct strikes. A missile hit Haifa overnight tearing a building apart and killing four under the rubble, taking the death toll in Israel to 23, according to Israel's ambulance service.
Yemen's Iran-aligned Houthis said today that they also carried out missile and drones attack against Israel.
About 3,540 people have been killed in Iran in the war, including at least 244 children, said US-based rights group HRANA.
Israel has also invaded southern Lebanon and struck Beirut in a fight against Iran-backed Hezbollah militants that has become the most violent spillover of the war on Iran.
Lebanon's heavy casualties include 1,461 killed, including at least 124 children, Lebanese authorities say.
Thirteen US service members have died and hundreds of others have been wounded.
