'Totally unacceptable!' Iran peace hopes in crisis as Tehran bitterly rejects Donald Trump's deal

Hopes for an end to the war in Iran are now dangling by a thread after Tehran bitterly rejected Donald Trump's peace plan.

A few days ago, the US sent across a 14-point proposal, meant to be a shorter-term agreement before finer details are worked out over 30 days, which is believed to have covered:

• Extending a ceasefire in the Gulf;
• Both sides finally reopening the Strait of Hormuz;
• Securing commitments to Iran curbing its nuclear programme and handing over its stockpile of uranium.

But Iran last night dished out a counter-proposal which canned most of Washington's key demands.

Sources told The Wall Street Journal that Iran had refused to dismantle its nuclear facilities, but would have stopped enriching uranium - though for a shorter time than the 20 years proposed by the US.

Iran's proposal also includes a demand for compensation for war damages and an emphasis on Iranian sovereignty over the strait.

Mr Trump then branded that "totally unacceptable".

"I have just read the response from Iran's so-called 'representatives'. I don't like it - TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE! Thank you for your attention to this matter," the President wrote on Sunday.

That then sparked a bitter backlash from Tehran, which claimed the US proposal would have meant Iran "surrender" to Mr Trump's "excessive demands".

A source told the country's Tasnim news agency: "No one in Iran drafts plans to please Trump," adding that his response "doesn't matter at all".

By late on Sunday night, oil prices had already surged, with Brent crude jumping by $3 in Asia to a near-week-long high of $104.50 a barrel.

Addressing whether combat operations against Iran were over, Mr Trump said in remarks aired on Sunday: "They are defeated, but that doesn't mean they're done."

While Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu said the war was not over because there was "more work to be done" to remove enriched uranium from Iran, dismantle enrichment sites and address Iran's proxies and ballistic missile capabilities.

The best way to remove the enriched uranium would be through diplomacy, Mr Netanyahu said in an interview with CBS News - though left the door open to removing it by force.

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian then blasted that Iran would "never bow down to the enemy" and would "defend national interests with strength".

READ MORE FROM IRAN:

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• Donald Trump unleashes devastating new strikes on Iran as full-blown conflict threatens to reignite
• Iranian dissident fears Britain faces deadly ‘revenge’ if his country’s leadership is not wiped out

After Tehran sent its counterproposal, the Israeli PM rushed out of a meeting to return to Jerusalem to hold what was billed as an "urgent" phone call with Mr Trump.

But the US President's eye will be focused further east - Mr Trump will travel to Beijing on Wednesday for a crucial summit with China's President Xi Jinping.

China maintains ties with Iran and remains a major consumer of its oil exports.

Mr Trump has already pushed China to use its influence to pull Tehran back from the brink and make a deal with Washington.

The crunch talks are also set to cover Taiwan and nuclear weapons - as well as China's dealings with Russia.

"The President has spoken multiple times with General Secretary Xi Jinping about the topic of Iran and about the topic of Russia, to include the revenue that China provides to both those regimes, as well as dual-use goods, components and parts, not to mention the potential of weapons exports," one US official said. "I expect that conversation to continue."

Mr Xi, meanwhile, is said to be frustrated with Washington over Taiwan.

The US is by far the largest backer and arms supplier of the independent island, which Beijing claims as its own territory.

China has ramped up its military presence near Taiwan in recent years, but the official stressed that US policy will not change.

But on nuclear weapons, China is reluctant to talk about its stockpile - amid a series of secretive tests in its vast deserts.

The Chinese Government has said privately to the US "they have no interest in sitting down and discussing any kind of nuclear arms control or anything along those lines at this point," the official said.