Iran Rejects Cease-Fire, Demands Permanent End To War As Trump Deadline Looms
by RFE/RL's Radio Farda · Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty · JoinIran has conveyed a 10-point response to US proposals for ending the war to Pakistan, rejecting a temporary cease-fire and demanding a permanent end to hostilities, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported on April 6, as US President Donald Trump's deadline for massive strikes on Iranian energy infrastructure draws closer.
The response, described by IRNA as the product of two weeks of reviews at the highest levels of the Iranian establishment, rules out a cease-fire while laying out a set of conditions including a permanent end to hostilities across the region, a safe passage protocol for the Strait of Hormuz, reconstruction commitments, and the lifting of sanctions.
The report carried by IRNA did not offer further details.
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Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baqaei had signaled Tehran's position earlier in the day.
"A cease-fire means creating a pause to regroup and commit crimes again," he said at his weekly press conference. "No rational person would do that." Iranian officials have made clear they do not want to be caught in a situation similar to Gaza or Lebanon, where a cease-fire on paper left them vulnerable to renewed attack.
The response lands as Trump's self-imposed deadline -- Tuesday, April 7, at 8pm US Eastern Time -- closes in.
Trump has threatened to unleash a sweeping bombing campaign against Iranian power plants and bridges if Tehran does not reopen the Strait of Hormuz. "Tuesday [April 7] will be Power Plant Day, and Bridge Day, all wrapped up in one, in Iran. There will be nothing like it!!! Open the F****** Strait, you crazy bastards, or you'll be living in Hell - JUST WATCH!" he wrote on Truth Social.
In response, Iranian Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, reportedly seen by some in the White House as a potential workable partner, accused Washington of making "reckless moves" and warned that "our whole region is going to burn."
Cease-Fire Proposals
Despite the threats, Trump has also signaled that a diplomatic opening remains.
"There is a good chance, but if they don't make a deal, I am blowing up everything over there," he told Axios. An operational plan for a massive US-Israeli strike on Iranian energy infrastructure is ready to execute, sources told the outlet, but Trump's deadline extensions have been aimed at giving diplomacy a last chance.
Axios also said Washington, Tehran, and regional mediators were discussing the terms of a potential 45-day cease-fire that could lead to a permanent end to the war.
Separately, Reuters reported that a cease-fire proposal had been put together by Pakistan and exchanged with both sides overnight, Reuters reported, in what has been tentatively dubbed the "Islamabad Accord."
Under the proposal, a cease-fire would take effect immediately, reopening the Strait of Hormuz, with 15 to 20 days to finalize a broader settlement including Iranian commitments on its nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief and frozen asset releases.
Pakistan's army chief Field Marshal Asim Munir was in contact through the night with US Vice President JD Vance, special envoy Steve Witkoff, and Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi. Talks have also been conducted through direct text messages between Witkoff and Araqchi, according to Axios.
Meanwhile, at least 19 people were killed and 20 injured in US and Israeli air strikes near Tehran, Iranian state media reported on April 6.
The districts of Shahriar and Baharestan were hit, with two residential buildings destroyed, the official IRNA news agency said, citing local officials. Several bodies were recovered from the rubble. The Tasnim news agency, which is close to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), reported that six children under the age of 10 were among the dead. The figures could not be independently verified.
Separately, the head of the intelligence organization of the IRGC, Majid Khademi, was killed on April 6 in what Iranian media described as a "terrorist attack" by the US and Israel, citing a statement by the Revolutionary Guards. Khademi, who took over the role in 2025, had held senior intelligence and counterespionage posts and led one of Iran’s most powerful security bodies.
Elsewhere, Israeli media reported on April 6 that Iran had used cluster munitions in a missile attack on the Tel Aviv area earlier that day, with around 20 impact sites reported, according to the Ynet news agency. Several people were injured, including one seriously, and a school was hit. In Haifa, earlier strikes killed four people and set vehicles on fire.
Iran Rejects Cease-Fire, Demands Permanent End To War As Trump Deadline Looms
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