Iran’s latest response to a US-backed peace proposal avoids addressing its nuclear program and instead focuses on ending the fighting across the region, according to Iranian state media on Sunday.

The regime’s counterproposal, reportedly sent through Pakistani mediators, calls for guarantees on security and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz before negotiations begin on more divisive issues, including Tehran’s nuclear ambitions, the IRNA news agency reported.

The American proposal had reportedly included plans to end the war, reopen the vital shipping lane and curb Iran’s nuclear program.

The White House has not yet publicly responded to Iran’s reply.

President Trump has repeatedly said dismantling Iran’s nuclear program remains one of the central goals of the conflict.

“We will never bow our heads before the enemy, and if talk of dialogue or negotiation arises, it does not mean surrender or retreat. Rather, the goal is to uphold the rights of the Iranian nation and to defend national interests with resolute strength,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian wrote on X.

President Trump also warned Saturday that the US could revive “Project Freedom” — an operation involving Navy escorts for commercial ships through the Strait of Hormuz — if negotiations collapse.

US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz said Sunday that Trump is giving diplomacy “every chance we possibly can before going back to hostilities.”

Iran has largely blocked non-Iranian vessels from moving through the Strait of Hormuz, a critical passageway that carried roughly one-fifth of the world’s oil supply before the war.