Middle East conflict: America and Iran put forth rival plans to bring about a truce

US President Donald Trump has unveiled a 15-point plan aimed at bringing an end to the war against Iran, which began three weeks ago in conjunction with Israel, with key provisions including the destruction of nuclear facilities at Natanz, Isfahan, and Fordow.

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The plan also calls for transparency and oversight by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) over activities in Tehran, as well as the abandonment of armed proxies in the region and the cessation of funding and arming of regional allies.

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Iran, however, has rejected the proposal, instead listing its own demands, including the closure of US bases in the Middle East and the imposition of a new toll on shipping in the Strait of Hormuz.

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A US official has characterized Iran's demands as "ridiculous and unrealistic", according to the Wall Street Journal, with Iran seeking to collect fees from ships transiting the Persian Gulf channel, similar to Egypt's Suez Canal tolls.

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Iran's additional demands include a guarantee that the conflict will not restart, an end to Israel's attacks on the Iran-backed Lebanese militia, Hezbollah, and the lifting of all sanctions on Iran, as well as the retention of its missile program without any negotiations to limit it.

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Press TV, the Iranian state broadcaster's English-language outlet, has quoted a senior political security official as stating that Tehran has reviewed and rejected the US proposal, with the official adding that any cessation of hostilities will only occur on Iran's own terms and timeline.

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The official emphasized that "Iran will end the war when it decides to do so and when its own conditions are met", considering the US proposal "excessive", with Tehran dictating the terms of any potential ceasefire.

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Iranian military spokesperson, Lt Col Ebrahim Zolfaghari, has mocked US attempts at a ceasefire deal, claiming that Americans are only negotiating with themselves, with Zolfaghari stating that the US's strategic power has turned into "strategic failure" in a prerecorded video aired on state television.

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Zolfaghari asserted that the US, as a purported global superpower, would have already extricated itself from the situation if it were capable, saying "don't dress up your defeat as an agreement" and questioning whether the US has reached a point of internal conflict where it is negotiating with itself.

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He reiterated Iran's stance, saying "our first and last word has been the same from day one, and it will stay that way: Someone like us will never come to terms with someone like you, not now, not ever".

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The US Defense Department has announced agreements with defense contractors to increase missile production, putting it "on a wartime footing" as the war in the Middle East leads to rapid depletion of munition stocks.

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The Pentagon has agreed to a fourfold increase in production of "seeker heads", a key component for the THAAD anti-missile system, with Lockheed Martin and BAE Systems, and has also accelerated production of Precision Strike Missiles, or PrSM, tactical ballistic missiles used against Iran.

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Honeywell Aerospace has agreed to boost production of critical components for America's munitions stockpile, including navigation systems, with a multi-year investment of $500 million to upgrade its production capabilities.

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United Nations Secretary-General, Mr Antonio Guterres, has warned that the war in the Middle East is "out of control", cautioning of increased human and economic pain the longer the fighting continues, and stating that the conflict has surpassed the limits even leaders thought imaginable.

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Guterres urged that "the Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon", warning of a wider war, rising human suffering, and a deeper global economic shock, emphasizing that the situation has gone too far.