The insistence on financial compensation aligns directly with Iran’s controversial establishment of the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA)
Delivering a severe blow to international expectations of a swift diplomatic breakthrough, Pakistan’s Chief of Defence Forces, Field Marshal Asim Munir, departed from the Iranian capital on Saturday afternoon without securing a final peace agreement between Washington and Tehran. Acting as the critical “direct messenger” and official intermediary in the hyper-volatile US-Iran conflict, Munir’s high-stakes weekend sprint concluded with Iran’s leadership flatly refusing to sign a permanent truce without immediate economic concessions.
Despite the lack of an immediate signature, top diplomatic sources maintain that the peace track remains alive. Characterising the razor-thin margin of the negotiations, Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Esmail Baghaei, noted that the two warring capitals are simultaneously “very far and very close” to a consensus. Tehran is currently bypassing long-term comprehensive treaties to focus narrowly on finalising a crucial Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Washington to prevent a catastrophic resumption of full-scale warfare.
The Dual Proposals: Tehran’s Hardline Leverage on the Table
According to highly placed diplomatic sources close to the backchannel circuit, the Iranian executive framework presented two distinct operational proposals to the Pakistani mediators and visiting Qatari interlocutors during the intense Saturday sessions. Both strategies are anchored to a resolute mandate: “No deal without cash.”
The strategic parameters of the twin Iranian proposals outline a strict transactional sequencing:
The Maritime Counter-Offer: Iran has formally offered to fully reopen the heavily blockaded Strait of Hormuz to international shipping—restoring the flow of a fifth of global energy supplies—but strictly in exchange for the United States paying massive, structured financial compensation to Tehran for port and trade damages.
The Sequencing Prerequisite: The Iranian delegation has demanded the total removal of unilateral US banking sanctions and the verifiable release of billions of dollars in frozen Iranian funds overseas before any final, direct bilateral peace talks can legally commence.
The Toll Gate Deadlock: Rubio and Ghalibaf Exchange Warnings
The insistence on financial compensation aligns directly with Iran’s controversial establishment of the Persian Gulf Strait Authority (PGSA). Managed by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), the authority has begun enforcing an aggressive tolling system, demanding up to $2 million per vessel for safe transit through the chokepoint.
The economic demand has met with fierce resistance in Washington. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio explicitly red-flagged the mechanism, warning that a permanent Iranian tolling system over an international waterway remains entirely “unacceptable” to the Trump administration. Rubio noted that while the White House prefers a negotiated solution, the President maintains “other options” on the table—a statement coinciding with intelligence leaks that the US military is actively evaluating fresh surgical strikes if backchannel diplomacy collapses.
