Iran official dismisses US proposal as 'wish list'

Staff of an Iranian hospital in Dubai have vacated accommodation linked to the facility after an order by authorities in the United Arab Emirates, Iran International has learned.

Residents were initially given one month to leave, but the deadline was cut to one week after the hospital was shut. Doctors, nurses and other staff living in the housing began leaving on Tuesday, and the evacuation was completed on Wednesday.

The visas of some employees whose residency was tied to the hospital were canceled. Those affected have had to return to Iran through third countries, including Afghanistan.

Earlier, housing linked to Iranian schools in Dubai was also vacated after those schools were shut, and staff returned to Iran.

Israel’s military said on Wednesday it struck an underwater research center in Isfahan used by Iran’s navy in an attack carried out on Tuesday.

The military said the facility was the only site in Iran responsible for the design and development of submarines and related support systems, and that unmanned vessels were also produced there.

It said the strike was part of a broader wave of attacks on Iran’s military production facilities and would limit Tehran’s ability to build and upgrade naval assets.

The reported proposal, described by Pakistani and Egyptian officials speaking to the Associated Press, covers sanctions relief, civilian nuclear cooperation, curbs on Iran’s nuclear and missile programs, stronger International Atomic Energy Agency monitoring and guarantees for shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

One Egyptian official described it as a “comprehensive deal,” but said it was being treated only as a basis for further talks, adding that Iranian officials remained “very skeptical” of the Trump administration.

That skepticism has been reinforced by Iran’s public messaging. Iran’s ambassador to Pakistan, quoted by state media, said no direct or indirect talks with the United States had taken place, even as he said “friendly countries” were trying to create conditions for dialogue.

An Iranian military spokesman was even more dismissive, mocking Washington’s diplomatic push and saying Iran would never “come to terms” with the United States.

“Do not call your defeat an agreement... Have your internal conflicts reached the point where you are negotiating with yourselves? You will see neither your investments in the region nor the former prices of energy and oil again until you understand this: stability in the region is guaranteed by the strong hand of our armed forces,” said the spokesperson for Iran’s Khatam al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, Ebrahim Zolfaghari.

The mixed signals come after President Donald Trump said the United States was “in negotiations right now” with Iran and suggested Tehran wanted a deal.

Pakistan has emerged as a possible channel, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif saying Islamabad was ready to host talks, while Saudi Arabia’s crown prince also discussed Pakistan’s mediation effort with Sharif, according to the AP report.

According to a senior Iranian talking to Reuters on Wednesday, Turkey had also "helped to end the war and either Turkey or Pakistan was under consideration as the venue for such talks."

Even as diplomacy stirred, the war showed little sign of pausing. The United States was moving about 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division to the region and deploying two Marine units, while Israel launched new wide-scale strikes and Iran continued attacks on Israel and across the Persian Gulf region.

Israeli officials were described as surprised by the submission of a ceasefire plan, having pushed Trump to keep up military pressure.

Still, major uncertainties remain over who in Iran has the authority to negotiate, what terms Tehran might ultimately accept, and whether any proposal can survive continued fighting.

Reflecting that uncertainty, the Kremlin said on Wednesday it had received no information from Iran about the reported US plan and could not assess the reliability of the reports.

Police said the suspects, aged 47 and 45, were arrested at addresses in northwest and central London and were being held in custody.

The ambulances were set on fire early on Monday in an attack Prime Minister Keir Starmer described as a “deeply shocking antisemitic arson attack.” No injuries were reported.

Police, who had earlier said they were examining a possible Iran link, said the investigation was continuing, with CCTV suggesting at least three people were involved.

An Iran-aligned militant network claimed responsibility for the arson attack early on Monday, the SITE Intelligence monitoring service reported, linking the incident to a string of similar fires across Europe.

A group calling itself the Islamic Movement of the People of the Right Hand carried out the attack near the synagogue in Golders Green, the SITE said, adding that it had also been behind fires in Belgium, Greece and the Netherlands.

Israel’s embassy in Britain has called for decisive action in response to the attack.

“Enough is enough,” the embassy said on Monday. “There must be a thorough investigation and decisive action to put an end to this climate of intimidation before it spirals further.”

Britain condemned Iranian missile and drone attacks and urged Tehran to halt its actions in a statement to the UN Human Rights Council on Wednesday.

“Iran must cease its assaults on the sovereignty and territorial integrity of its neighbours,” the UK’s human rights ambassador Eleanor Sanders said.

She also condemned attacks on commercial vessels and energy infrastructure and said Iran’s actions were “endangering civilians, destabilising the region, and threatening the global economy.”

“De-escalation is the only way forward,” she said, calling on Iran to stop its attacks immediately.