Iran defends two-day talks offer as Rubio calls terms outrageous

Iran's Foreign Ministry pushed back hard on Monday, calling its two-day framework for restarting peace talks the most reasonable offer available. Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei defended the terms at a weekly press conference in Dubai, days after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio branded them unacceptable.

Rubio's verdict was blunt: he called some of Iran's conditions 'outrageous and ridiculous.' Baghaei fired back with his own question — whether it was unreasonable for Iran to demand that US sanctions and a naval blockade be lifted before negotiations begin, and that the war end on all fronts.

Tehran has trimmed its timeline, moving from an earlier seven-day proposal to as few as two days. But the preconditions stayed put: Washington would have to halt hostilities, lift the blockade and waive sanctions before anyone sits down.

Baghdad is caught in the middle. After Iraq's foreign minister said Washington was pressing his government to close most of its borders with Iran, Baghaei said the pressure should not damage Iran's bilateral ties with Iraq.

Baghaei also waved off a new US military task force designed to squeeze Iran's overland trade, framing it as a distraction. Its timing, he suggested, follows midterm election losses for President Donald Trump's Republicans.