By JBizNews Desk | Sunday, May 10, 2026
President Donald Trump sharply escalated pressure on Iran Sunday evening after Tehran formally delivered its response earlier Sunday to the latest U.S. peace proposal through Pakistani mediators, with Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency first reporting the transmission of the response. Writing in direct response to Iran’s latest message, Trump accused Tehran of attempting to “buy time” while prolonging negotiations tied to the war, the Strait of Hormuz crisis, and Iran’s nuclear program.
“They will be laughing no longer!” Trump wrote Sunday on Truth Social, accusing Iran’s leadership of deceiving the United States and the world for nearly five decades while using diplomacy as a delaying tactic.
Trump claimed Tehran had spent 47 years “playing America and the rest of the world,” while also blaming Iran for roadside bomb attacks that killed Americans, the suppression of anti-government protests, and what he described as the deaths of “42,000 innocent, unarmed protestors.”
The president also renewed criticism of former President Barack Obama, alleging the Obama administration transferred “Hundreds of Billions of Dollars” to Tehran, including “1.7 Billion Dollars in green cash, flown into Tehran” in “suitcases and satchels” during the nuclear agreement era.
The sharp public response came only hours after Tehran formally transmitted its answer to Washington’s latest draft proposal aimed at ending the conflict and reopening the Strait of Hormuz.
According to IRNA, Iran delivered the response Sunday through Pakistani intermediaries, though Iranian officials did not publicly disclose the contents of the message. The lack of details left diplomats, energy traders, and military officials attempting to determine whether Iran was signaling flexibility or simply prolonging negotiations while maintaining leverage across the Gulf.
Duvi Honig, chief analyst and government policy advisor at JBizNews and Newsmax Contributor, said Trump’s latest remarks reflected growing frustration inside Washington that Tehran may once again be using negotiations to delay meaningful concessions.
“The time has come for the president to reach this conclusion and call out the white elephant in the room — we are being played with,” Honig said Sunday. “Iran is sticking to its old game of buying time and hoping to wait out the Trump administration.”
The 14-point proposal delivered by Washington earlier this week reportedly requires Iran to halt all uranium enrichment for at least 12 years, permanently abandon any path toward developing a nuclear weapon, and surrender approximately 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity.
In return, the United States would gradually lift sanctions, release billions of dollars in frozen Iranian assets, and eventually halt the American naval blockade targeting Iranian ports and oil exports.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz made clear Sunday that the administration sees the nuclear issue as entirely non-negotiable.
“President Trump has been clear they will never have a nuclear weapon and they cannot hold the world’s economies hostage,” Waltz said during an appearance on Fox News Sunday. He added that the international community cannot allow Iran to continue “trying to choke off the entire world’s economy” through threats tied to the Strait of Hormuz.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian answered Trump’s rhetoric with defiance of his own, insisting Tehran would continue discussions but would not frame negotiations as surrender.
“We will never bow our heads before the enemy, and if talk of dialogue or negotiation arises, it does not mean surrender or retreat,” Pezeshkian wrote Sunday on X.
Even as diplomatic channels remained open, military tensions across the Gulf continued escalating. Multiple drones were launched across the region Sunday, including one that reportedly struck a freighter bound for Qatar, as Tehran warned Washington it would no longer refrain from retaliatory operations connected to the conflict.
The United Arab Emirates said its air defense systems intercepted two Iranian drones Sunday with no casualties reported. UAE officials disclosed that since the conflict escalated, the country has intercepted roughly 550 ballistic missiles, nearly 30 cruise missiles, and more than 2,200 drones launched across the region — underscoring the scale of the military pressure campaign now disrupting Gulf trade routes, shipping lanes, and energy infrastructure.
The prolonged confrontation has increasingly rattled global markets. Oil traders remain focused on whether the Strait of Hormuz can fully reopen, while governments across Europe and Asia continue pressuring both Washington and Tehran to prevent additional disruption to global energy supplies.
Administration officials say the U.S. naval blockade targeting Iranian ports is specifically designed to cut off Tehran’s oil exports — the central pillar of Iran’s economy — and pressure Iranian leadership into reopening the Strait and accepting long-term nuclear restrictions. Iranian oil production has reportedly already begun slowing as export bottlenecks intensify.
Qatar’s Prime Minister warned Sunday that using the Strait of Hormuz “as a pressure card would only lead to deepening the crisis,” reflecting growing concern among Gulf states that the conflict could spiral into a prolonged economic shock affecting inflation, fuel costs, and global trade.
Meanwhile, National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett acknowledged Americans will likely continue feeling the economic impact of the conflict in the near term, saying consumers and businesses should expect higher oil and gasoline costs “in the short run” as tensions persist.
Behind the scenes, diplomats from Pakistan, Qatar, and several European governments remain engaged in shuttle negotiations attempting to prevent the conflict from widening further. But with both Trump and Iranian leadership publicly escalating their rhetoric even while negotiations continue, uncertainty surrounding the proposal remains extraordinarily high.
Whether Tehran’s latest response ultimately opens a path toward a framework agreement — or merely reinforces Washington’s growing belief that Iran is attempting to buy time while preserving leverage — remained unclear Sunday evening.
JBizNews Desk
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