In Tehran’s first comments on ‌the proposal, Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi said Tehran also sought the lifting of sanctions, the release of frozen funds and an end to the US marine blockade on the country, according to IRNA news agency.

The terms as described in the Iranian reports appeared little changed from Iran’s previous offer, which US President Donald Trump rejected last week as “garbage”.

Iran’s proposal falls short of demand

Meanwhile, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) has claimed that Iran’s latest counterproposal appears to fall short of meeting US demands.

A senior US official, along with a source familiar with the matter, told Axios on May 18 that Iran’s proposal does not include a commitment to suspend uranium enrichment or transfer its existing stockpile of highly enriched uranium (HEU).

US officials have consistently maintained that Iran must hand over its HEU to the United States, a key condition that remains unmet in the latest proposal.

Trump said on Monday he had paused a planned resumption of attacks ​on Iran after Tehran sent a new peace proposal to Washington, and that there was now a “very good chance” of reaching a deal limiting Iran’s nuclear programme.

Reuters ​could not determine whether preparations had been made for strikes that would mark a renewal of the war Trump started in late ⁠February.