Iraq’s Prime Minister, Ali al-Zaidi, presented a proposal for a ceasefire between Iran and the United States during his visit to Tehran on Thursday, the New York Times reported, citing Iranian and Iraqi officials.
According to the report, Iran rejected the ceasefire proposal.
The officials quoted in the report spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about matters of national security. The New York Times noted that Al-Zaidi was recently in Washington where he met with President Donald Trump.
The report further stated that Iran’s Foreign Minister, Abbas Araghchi, told local news media that the Iraqi leader had shared with Iranian officials his “insights and impressions" from his recent meeting with Trump.
Araghchi also said that Tehran and Washington do not have a problem when it comes to finding mediators and claimed that “the problem is America’s attitude."
The report comes after Trump told Axios' Barak Ravid earlier on Thursday that he is considering launching an attack on Iran on a scale beyond all previous attacks.
"I am considering a massive attack. Bigger than ever before. I am close to making a decision. We are all set for it," Trump said.
The President added that Israel would join the US military's operation if he asked, but said that the US does not need the help in order to carry out the strikes he is considering.
Addressing the attempts to revive talks to end the conflict, Trump said that the Iranian regime has not "received enough pain yet."
Trump warned earlier that the US would hold the Iranian regime responsible if its proxy, the Houthi terrorist organization, attacked civilian vessels.
"A year ago the United States of America attacked, very powerfully, the Houthis, for their interference with commerce and trade, by shooting at ships. Since that time, and during our conflict with Iran, they have acted very responsibly. Unfortunately, now they are starting up again, shooting at two Saudi Arabian ships last night," Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform.
"Please let this TRUTH serve to represent that if they do this again, the U.S. will hold Iran responsible, in that the Houthis are a Surrogate and/or Proxy of Iran, and major military punishment will be inflicted upon Iran and, of course, the Houthis, themselves, who I am very disappointed with in that they have, until now, acted very professionally and smart," he said.
On Wednesday, Trump told a rally in Georgia that Iran wants to make a deal with Washington, but is not yet ready for one.
"They're getting hit so hard, and they want to make a deal - but I say they're not ready to make a deal because every time they make a deal they want to change it and everything. They're not ready," Trump said.