Iranian officials said on 30 September that Tehran had received a formal US response to its seven-day ceasefire proposal. They describe it as a counterproposal, not a flat rejection, and say the Iranian government is reviewing it. Government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani confirmed receipt to the state-run news agency IRNA. Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi presented it to President Masoud Pezeshkian at a Cabinet meeting that morning, according to the Associated Press (AP).
This account comes from the Iranian side. Iranian officials have not detailed the contents, and no US account of the delivery was available at the time of writing. US President Donald Trump publicly rejected the Iranian proposal on 26 September, saying it "would not be acceptable". Both statements are on the record as of 1 October.
The state of play on 1 October
Araghchi floated the original proposal last week at the UN General Assembly in New York, through Qatari and Pakistani mediators. It envisages a seven-day ceasefire and a phased reopening of the Strait of Hormuz. Iran made this conditional on the US lifting its blockade of Iranian ports, releasing frozen Iranian assets and waiving sanctions on Iranian oil sales. Reuters, as carried by CBS News, reported that the disagreement concerns sequencing (who moves first) rather than substance.
Pezeshkian said Iran "will make every effort to bring the agreement to fruition" and that it "must now be based on a win-win strategy".
Trump told reporters on 30 September: "We have to make that decision: we blow them up or make a deal. But the time is coming. It's going to end very soon, one way or another."
On 29 September, the US Treasury announced sanctions on 10 individuals and entities, including in Iran, Hong Kong and Pakistan, that it accused of supplying Iran's military.
Observers are reading: the three open questions that will show whether the counterproposal leads to talks, with sourced figures on sequencing, the IRGC position and economic pressure.
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Two tracks, one open channel
What is confirmed is narrow: Iranian officials say they received a US counterproposal and are reviewing it. Claims by either side about intent or terms remain unverified. Public threats and, by Iranian account, a working diplomatic channel are both on the record as of 1 October. Which one shapes the next step is not yet known.
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