The ‘wild’ final hours in Middle East: How Mojtaba Khamenei’s secret directive averted a US bombing campaign

Witkoff slammed Iran’s 10-point counter-proposal

“Very angry”, Steve Witkoff told the mediators that Iran’s 10-point proposal was “a disaster, a catastrophe”, Axios cited a source with direct knowledge of the matter as saying.

Following this, amendments were made in the proposals, with Pakistani mediators passing new drafts between Witkoff and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, and the Egyptian and Turkish foreign ministers.

The ceasefire talks then entered a decisive phase after a revised US-backed proposal was sent to Khamenei.

Facing assassination threats, Iran’s Supreme Leader communicated using notes through aides.

All major decisions, according to the report, went through Khamenei. “Without his green light, there wouldn’t have been a deal,” Axios quoted the regional source as saying.

Trump announces 2-week ceasefire

Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, before a deadline set for Tehran to reach an agreement with Washington was about to end.

Trump said the ceasefire is subject to Iran’s agreement to pause its blockade of oil and gas supplies through the Strait of Hormuz, which handles about one-fifth of global oil shipments. He added that Iran ​had presented a 10-point proposal that ⁠was a “workable basis” for negotiations and that he expected an agreement to be “finalised and consummated” during ‌the ⁠two-week ceasefire.

Tehran has claimed that the 10-point plan includes:

🔹 Non-aggression
🔹 Continuation of Iran’s control over the Strait of Hormuz
🔹 Acceptance of enrichment
🔹 Lifting all primary sanctions
🔹 Lifting all secondary sanctions
🔹 Termination of all UN Security Council resolutions
🔹 Termination of all IAEA Board of Governors resolutions
🔹 Payment of compensation to Iran
🔹 Withdrawal of US combat forces from the region
🔹 Cessation of war on all fronts, including against the heroic Islamic Resistance of Lebanon.