A MARTÍNEZ, HOST:
Iran has responded to a U.S. peace plan with a proposal of its own.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
The United States offered sanctions relief if Iran were to end its nuclear program and take other steps. Iran says it does not plan to negotiate at all. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt warned of further attacks if Iran does not accept a deal.
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KAROLINE LEAVITT: President Trump does not bluff, and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again.
INSKEEP: Israel wants to keep fighting. Officials there say attacks on Iran will increase in the coming days. In a moment, we'll speak with a former U.S. diplomat with experience with Iran. First, we get the latest information.
MARTÍNEZ: NPR's Daniel Estrin joins us now from Tel Aviv.
Daniel, what do we know about the U.S. proposal for a ceasefire?
DANIEL ESTRIN, BYLINE: This is a 15-point proposal the U.S. drew up and gave to Iran via Pakistan. According to the proposal, Iran would need to end its nuclear program. It would need to stop supporting proxy militias in the Mid East. It would need to reopen the Strait of Hormuz completely. It would need to limit its missile program. And in exchange, Iran would get relief from sanctions. Essentially, these are the terms the U.S. came to Iran with before the war started. Iran says it is rejecting this proposal. It says it does not even plan on holding negotiations, and it laid out its own terms.
MARTÍNEZ: And what are those terms?
ESTRIN: Iran countered the 15-point proposal from the U.S. with it's own five-point proposal, and here are the points. No more war or killing Iranian leaders. Guarantees there would be no further war against Iran. Demanding reparations for war damages. An end to war on all fronts, so not just ending the war in Iran, but also against, quote, "all resistance groups in the region," that's a reference to Iran's proxies in Lebanon and Iraq. And it's also asking for international guarantees of Iran's sovereign right to control the Strait of Hormuz.
So the question now is if the U.S. and Iran will actually start holding negotiations in the coming days. Maybe in Pakistan. Pakistan has emerged as the mediator here. It says it is already mediating indirect talks, and it says Turkey and Egypt are also taking part. But all of this is happening as the U.S. will be sending paratroopers to the region from the 82nd Airborne Division. These are soldiers trained in parachuting into territory to take control. There's a lot of speculation they could try to take control of land near the Strait of Hormuz. This is a dangerous prospect. Iran could ambush the soldiers.
MARTÍNEZ: So we've talked about what the U.S. wants and what Iran is counterdemanding, but there is a third party here, and that's Israel. What does Israel want?
ESTRIN: Israel wants to keep fighting in Iran. Two military officials told me they're hoping for weeks more of war in Iran. And I spoke to another person today briefed on the operation, not authorized to speak publicly, who said the Israeli military is actually speeding up its targeting in Iran over the next 48 hours. They're trying to hit as many Iranian arms factories as they can in case a ceasefire is declared. That person told me that Israeli leadership knew the U.S. was trying to negotiate an end of the war, but actually the Israeli military was caught by surprise about that. And there is one ceasefire condition that Iran has laid out, which is that Israel should stop attacks on Hezbollah in Lebanon. Israel wants the very opposite. It is preparing as soon as the war ends, according to the person I spoke with, to send more ground troops to southern Lebanon to take over more of that part of the country.
MARTÍNEZ: That's NPR's Daniel Estrin in Tel Aviv. Daniel, thank you.
ESTRIN: You're welcome. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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