Iran's Parliament Speaker Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf on 12 May warned that the country's armed forces are prepared to deliver a "lesson-teaching" response to any aggression, posting the warning on social media platform X as diplomatic tensions with the United States over a proposed peace framework deepened. The remarks followed US President Donald Trump's dismissal of Iran's Sunday response to a US peace proposal, with Trump warning that the ceasefire between the two countries is "on massive life support."

Qalibaf's Warning

"Our armed forces are ready to give a lesson-teaching response to any aggression," Qalibaf said in his post on X, adding, "We are ready for all options. They will be surprised." The statement is among the sharpest public warnings from a senior Iranian official since the April 8 ceasefire came into effect, signalling that Tehran's patience with the stalled negotiations has limits.

Iran's Peace Proposal and Demands

Iran transmitted its response to the latest US-proposed text for ending the war to the Pakistani mediator on Sunday. At a weekly press conference on Monday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei elaborated on Tehran's position, stating that Iran has solely demanded its people's "legitimate" rights. Baghaei listed Iran's core demands: ending the war in West Asia, halting what he described as US "maritime piracy" against Iranian ships through a naval blockade, releasing Iranian assets frozen in foreign banks for years, ensuring safe traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, and establishing peace and security across the region. He argued these were not "excessive demands."

Nuclear Technology Non-Negotiable, Says Atomic Chief

Adding another layer of complexity to the negotiations, Iran's atomic chief Mohammad Eslami, head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, declared on Monday that the country's nuclear technology and uranium enrichment are non-negotiable. "The issue of nuclear technology is not on the agenda of the negotiations (with the United States), and enrichment is non-negotiable," Eslami was quoted as saying. The statement effectively forecloses one of the key areas the US has reportedly sought to address in the proposed peace framework.

Background: Ceasefire and Stalled Talks

Iran, the United States, and Israel reached a ceasefire on 8 April after 40 days of fighting that began with US-Israeli joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities on 28 February. Following the truce, Iranian and US delegations held one round of peace talks in Islamabad, Pakistan, on 11 and 12 April, which failed to produce an agreement. Over the subsequent weeks, both sides have reportedly exchanged several proposed plans outlining conditions for ending the conflict, with Pakistan serving as the intermediary. This is the latest in a series of escalatory statements that have punctuated an otherwise fragile diplomatic process.

What Comes Next

With uranium enrichment declared off the table by Tehran and Washington signalling frustration with the pace of talks, the gap between the two sides' positions appears to be widening rather than narrowing. The durability of the April ceasefire and the trajectory of the broader peace process will depend heavily on whether back-channel negotiations through Pakistan can bridge these publicly stated red lines in the days ahead.