Iran is reviewing the American 15-point ceasefire proposal transmitted through intermediaries. It has no intention of accepting it. [1]

As the paper reported Friday, neither side can accept the other's terms — the structural impossibility of peace is now formally acknowledged.

This is the formal position of the Iranian government as of March 25, conveyed through official channels and repeated by Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in public statements. [2] Tehran has rejected both the proposal and the premise that negotiations would follow its acceptance. The word from Tehran, carried on state media and amplified by official spokespeople: the United States is "negotiating with itself." [3]

Iran's response has been to issue its own five-point counterproposal. The conditions include the withdrawal of all American forces from the Gulf region, the removal of sanctions, the return of frozen Iranian assets, and — critically — $200 billion in reparations for the damage caused by American and Israeli strikes. [4] No American official has publicly engaged with the reparations demand. The gap between the two positions is not a negotiating distance. It is a structural impossibility.

The Reuters assessment from March 25 was direct: Iran has rejected the American ceasefire proposal and issued its own counterproposal as a non-starter. [5] The paper's March 27 coverage confirmed this posture has not changed. [6]

What reviewing the proposal means, in practical terms, is that Iranian officials are familiarizing themselves with the text. They are doing this for domestic and international audiences — to demonstrate they have seen what the Americans are offering, considered it seriously, and found it wanting. The review is a diplomatic gesture that costs nothing and signals nothing beyond the appearance of process.

The absence of talks is not a tactical choice. It is a stated position. Araghchi said on March 26 that Iran would not enter direct or indirect negotiations while strikes continue. [7] The strikes have not stopped. The talks will not happen. The question the paper raised on March 27 — whether the exit ramp has a toll — has been answered. The toll is $200 billion and the departure of every American asset from the Gulf. Nobody is paying it.

-- YOSEF STERN, Jerusalem