President Donald Trump said the US was making progress in its efforts to negotiate an end to the war, with reports of a 15-point peace plan sent to Tehran via Pakistan, while the Pentagon is expected to send thousands more soldiers to the Middle East.
Israel's Channel 12, quoting three sources, said the US was seeking a month-long ceasefire to discuss the 15-point plan, according to The New York Times.
Trump told reporters at the White House the US was talking to "the right people" in Iran to end hostilities, adding the Iranians wanted to reach a deal very badly. The 15-point plan ( to end the war) was delivered via Pakistan, whose army chief has emerged as the key interlocutor between the United States and Iran, officials say.
According to the Wall Street Journal, the 15-point plan calls on Iran to dismantle its three main nuclear sites and end any enrichment on Iranian soil, suspend its ballistic-missile work, curb support for proxies and fully reopen the Strait of Hormuz.
In return, the nuclear-related sanctions on Iran, imposed by the international community, will end, and the US will also assist and monitor its civil nuclear programme.
The US has also assured to remove the “snapback” mechanism, which allows for the automatic reimposition of sanctions if Iran fails to comply.
The programme also talks about Iran dismantling the Natanz, Isfahan and Fordo nuclear facilities, granting full access to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to its nuclear facilities.
It also asks Iran to abandon its “regional proxy paradigm” and cease the funding, directing and arming of its proxies.
In his remarks Tuesday afternoon, Trump repeated his claim that the US has already won the war in Iran.
Israeli officials, who have been advocating for President Donald Trump to continue the war against Iran, were surprised by the submission of a ceasefire plan, according to AP.
Pakistan's Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Tuesday he was willing to host talks between the US and Iran on ending the war, a day after Trump postponed threats to bomb Iranian power plants after what he called "productive" talks.
Despite reports of negotiations, the Pentagon is expected to send thousands of soldiers from the US Army's elite 82nd Airborne Division to the Middle East, two people familiar with the matter told Reuters on Tuesday, adding to a massive US military buildup.
The forces will add to the 50,000 US troops already in the region and accelerate Washington's massive US military buildup there, fuelling fears of a longer conflict. While talks continue, Israel struck the Iranian capital Tehran on Wednesday, Israeli military and Iranian media said.
The Israeli media outlet said the plan would include the dismantling of Iran's nuclear programme, ceasing support for proxy groups, such as Lebanon's Hezbollah, and the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The Israeli Defense Forces said in a Telegram post it had launched a wave of strikes targeting infrastructure across Tehran. The semi-official Iranian SNN News Agency said the strikes hit a residential area in the city, with rescuers searching the rubble.
Kuwait and Saudi Arabia said on Wednesday they had repelled fresh drone attacks, without stating where they originated. Drones targeted a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, causing a fire but no casualties, Kuwait's Civil Aviation Authority said.
Iran's Revolutionary Guards said it had launched a new wave of attacks against locations in Israel including Tel Aviv and Kiryat Shmona, as well as US bases in Kuwait, Jordan and Bahrain, Iranian state media reported.
Trump said on Tuesday the US was in "negotiations" to end the war, which has already killed thousands and created the worst energy shock in history, leading to global fuel shortages and roiling markets.
Stocks rose and oil prices fell on Wednesday on reports the US is seeking a month-long ceasefire and had sent a 15-point plan to Iran for discussion, raising hopes for a resumption of oil exports out of the Persian Gulf.
Iran's powerful parliament speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on Monday dismissed such reports as "fake news."
The US and Israel launched strikes on Iran on February 28 after saying they had failed to make enough headway in talks aimed at ending Iran's nuclear programme, although mediator Oman said significant progress had been made.
Since then, Iran has attacked countries that host US bases, struck Gulf energy infrastructure and effectively closed the Strait of Hormuz, conduit for a fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas.
Iran has told the United Nations Security Council and the International Maritime Organization that "non-hostile vessels" may transit the Strait of Hormuz if they coordinate with Iranian authorities, according to a note seen by Reuters on Tuesday.
The effective closure of the waterway, where 20% of the world's oil and gas normally transits, has created the worst energy supply shock in history, sent fuel prices soaring, and disrupted global aviation.