The United States has sent Iran a formal 15-point proposal to end the war in the Middle East, according to two officials briefed on the diplomacy who spoke to the New York Times on March 24. Axios separately confirmed the document exists and reported that it "includes many of the same demands" as prior US positions, while also containing elements that Iran has reportedly indicated agreement on — including, per Axios, giving up its stockpile of highly enriched uranium.
The 15-point proposal is the most specific formal diplomatic document to emerge from the five days since Trump announced a pause on strikes against Iranian power plants on March 23. It is also the document that Iran has not yet formally responded to.
Trump told reporters that US envoy Steve Witkoff and his son-in-law Jared Kushner were leading the talks from the US side and had been dealing with a "top person" in Iran, but declined to name the person, adding that it was not Iran's supreme leader, according to the NYT. Iran, at least publicly, has denied any diplomatic contact since the war began 25 days ago.
Act 1: What's in the 15-Point Plan
The Guardian, citing sources with knowledge of the talks, outlined the core elements of what Trump's team has presented to Iran. These are reported elements — the full text of the proposal has not been published, and the sourcing is from unnamed officials. With that caveat:
The Guardian reported the proposal includes demands for: no nuclear weapons; no nuclear weapons "not even close"; no "nuclear dust" — meaning Iran must eliminate its stockpile of highly enriched uranium; "low-key on the missiles" — a demand for restraint on Iran's ballistic missile program; peace in the Middle East, described as requiring Iran to normalize relations with Gulf neighbors who have been expelling Iranian diplomats; and "no enrichment" — a complete halt to uranium enrichment activities.
The Guardian also noted that the proposal requires Iran to accommodate "whoever the ayatollah is" — an implicit reference to the leadership transition following Khamenei's death, acknowledging that the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, would need to be a party to any agreement.
Axios reported that despite Iran's public denials of diplomatic contact, there are elements in the current state of play that suggest some back-channel acknowledgment: Axios reported that Trump was informed that the Iranians had indicated agreement on several key points, including giving up the highly enriched uranium stockpile. This claim cannot be independently verified against Iranian sources, and Iran has publicly denied any talks are happening.
The Guardian separately reported that "diplomats close to the talks said they did not believe a radically different new US document existed, and even if the US was working on such a plan, it has not yet been shown to the Iranians, let alone secured their agreement." This skepticism directly contradicts the Axios/NYT reporting that a formal 15-point document has been transmitted. The discrepancy has not been resolved as of publication.
Act 2: The Backchannel Architecture
CNN's reporting on March 23 provided the most detailed account of how the diplomatic contact is actually being structured. According to CNN's sources, the US is reaching out to Iran through multiple intermediary countries simultaneously — a strategy designed to ensure messages reach all relevant factions in Tehran's fractured post-Khamenei leadership.
Trump's envoy Steve Witkoff spoke with Turkish Foreign Minister Fidan on Sunday, per CNN. Axios reported that mediating countries are trying to convene a meeting in Islamabad — with Iranian official Ghalibaf and other representatives on Iran's side, and Witkoff, Kushner, and possibly Vice President Vance representing the US.
The multi-country routing is not accidental. As Ranked has previously reported, Iran's leadership structure is fractured: new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has not been seen in public since his father was killed; the IRGC has expanded into the decision-making vacuum; and the country's top security official was just replaced by a hardliner with no diplomatic background. The US is trying to reach whoever is actually making decisions — which is not publicly clear.
One regional source told CNN: "Diplomacy is being conducted as we speak, there are multiple proposals in play." The same source said a "sustained end to the war will likely be a longer process."
Iran's public position, stated through its foreign ministry spokesperson, is that no talks have been held with the US since the bombing campaign began. Whether that reflects the actual state of back-channel communications or is a public posture designed to maintain domestic credibility is not determinable from available sources.
Act 3: Why Iran Hasn't Answered
Some Iranian officials, per Axios reporting on March 24, believe Trump is "just trying to calm the markets and buy time for his military plans with false claims of diplomatic progress." This is the Iranian suspicion that the 5-day pause and the 15-point proposal are tactical — creating space for the US military to move additional forces into position while projecting a diplomatic posture that keeps oil markets from panicking further.
The Axios reporting noted that simultaneously with the diplomatic overtures, the command element of the US Army's 82nd Airborne Division had been directed to deploy to the Middle East with an infantry brigade consisting of "several thousand soldiers," as Fox News first reported. That deployment significantly expands US ground force options in the region.
The dual-track nature of US actions — presenting a 15-point peace proposal while simultaneously deploying thousands of additional troops and Marines — creates a plausible Iranian calculation that the ceasefire offer is either a genuine opening or a cover for military preparation. Iran's public silence may reflect an internal debate about which it is.
The Guardian's reporting adds a third possibility: that the diplomatic document being described by US officials is not substantively new, but rather a repackaging of prior positions that had already been discussed in the Geneva talks held before the war began. "Diplomats close to the talks said they did not believe a radically different new US document existed," The Guardian reported. If that characterization is accurate, the 15-point plan offers Iran essentially the same terms that were being discussed pre-war — terms that Iran's government, then under different leadership, had not agreed to.
Act 4: What Iran's Leadership Would Need to Accept
Even if Iran wanted to accept the framework outlined in the 15-point proposal, the leadership architecture to do so is unclear.
The proposal, per The Guardian, explicitly addresses "whoever the ayatollah is" — meaning the US acknowledges it is dealing with a new, unproven Supreme Leader in Mojtaba Khamenei, who has not been publicly active since his father's death. For Mojtaba to formally agree to give up Iran's enriched uranium stockpile, halt enrichment, restrain the missile program, and normalize relations with Gulf states would represent a comprehensive strategic capitulation — the kind of agreement that would require significant domestic political management within Iran's internal factions.
The IRGC — which, as ISW assessed on March 21, has been filling Iran's power vacuum — controls the missile program, the enriched uranium program, and the proxy networks that the proposal's "peace in the Middle East" demand addresses. Any agreement that dismantles those programs would require IRGC buy-in or IRGC suppression. Neither scenario is easy given that the IRGC has just been handed increased political authority through the appointment of Zolghadr.
Axios reported that there is a proposed in-person summit — potentially in Islamabad — where these issues could be addressed. Whether that summit happens within the 5-day window Trump established depends on Iran's willingness to come to the table, which it has not publicly indicated.
Act 5: The Clock
Trump's 5-day pause on strikes against Iranian power plants was announced on March 23. The pause expires on March 28. The 15-point proposal has been transmitted. Iran has not formally responded. The 82nd Airborne command element is deploying. 5,000 Marines and sailors are moving toward the Persian Gulf. The USS Gerald R. Ford is in Crete for repairs.
The five days are not a ceasefire. They are a window. What happens at the end of that window — whether Trump extends it again, resumes strikes on power infrastructure, or something else — depends in part on whether Iran provides any formal diplomatic response to the proposal before March 28.
As of March 24, it has not.
The Record
The United States sent Iran a formal 15-point proposal to end the war, confirmed by the New York Times and Axios. The proposal demands, per The Guardian: no nuclear weapons, elimination of enriched uranium stockpile, halt to enrichment, restraint on ballistic missiles, normalization with Gulf neighbors, and acknowledgment of new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei as a party. Axios reported Trump was told Iran had indicated agreement on some points, including enriched uranium. The Guardian reported diplomats close to the talks are skeptical the document is substantively new.
Iran has not formally responded. Some Iranian officials believe Trump is using diplomacy to buy time for military moves. Thousands of additional US troops are deploying regardless.
The 5-day window closes March 28. The proposal exists. The response does not.