US Forms 15-Point Plan to End Iran War as Trump Pushes Talks

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(Bloomberg) — The US has drafted a 15-point plan intended to help bring the war with Iran to a close, according to people familiar with the matter, highlighting the intensifying urgency within the Trump administration to resolve the conflict as the economic toll mounts.

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President Donald Trump has been pushing talks with Iran in a bid to halt the fighting. Yet those efforts have been clouded by uncertainty over the structure of negotiations, the Iranian participants and how any deal would be structured. 

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The plan was delivered to Iran via Pakistan, said one of the people, who requested anonymity to discuss private matters. The details of the 15-point proposal remain unclear, though Trump has publicly mused that any agreement would have to include a prohibition on Iran ever obtaining a nuclear weapon or enriching radioactive material for civilian purposes.

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The New York Times first reported on the existence of the document. The White House didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment late Tuesday night.

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After threatening attacks on Iran’s energy infrastructure, Trump said Monday he was delaying them for five days to allow time for negotiations, citing “major points of agreement” with Iran.

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Oil declined and equities rallied on optimism about a potential diplomatic push to resolve the nearly month-long Middle East conflict.

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Brent sank as much as 7% to almost $97 a barrel, while West Texas Intermediate was near $88. A Bloomberg index of the dollar fell 0.1%, while bonds in Australia and New Zealand rose along with Treasuries. Equity-index futures for the S&P 500 advanced 0.5% buoyed by reports of ceasefire efforts. 

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Despite overtures from Washington, Iran and Israel showed no signs of letup in the conflict. It was not immediately clear if Israel, which has partnered with the US on the coordinated strikes that began Feb. 28, has signed off on the approach. Israeli officials have maintained they would continue hitting Iran even as Trump has claimed talks are underway to end the conflict.  

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Tehran is meanwhile signaling little willingness to compromise. On Wednesday, Iran’s armed forces added to a stream of messaging that ruled out ceasefire talks with the Trump administration. 

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“The level of your internal conflicts has reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves,” the statement said, according to state-run IRIB News. It added that Iran wouldn’t allow market prices for oil and energy to return to their previous levels until all threats against the country are fully removed.

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Special envoys Steve Witkoff and Jared Kushner, as well as Secretary of State Marco Rubio have been involved in what Trump has described as active negotiations, without explicitly specifying with whom the US is talking. Pakistan, at the same time, has offered itself as a mediator.