DUBAI, May 11 (Agencies): Iran sent its response to the latest US proposal to end the Iran war via Pakistani mediators on Sunday, but US President Donald Trump quickly rejected it in a social media post as "TOTALLY UNACCEPTABLE!" -- the latest setback to efforts to resolve the standoff in the Persian Gulf that has throttled shipping and sent energy prices soaring.
Iranian state television reported that Tehran rejected the US proposal as amounting to surrender, insisting instead on "war reparations by the US, full Iranian sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz, an end to sanctions, and the release of seized Iranian assets."
Washington's latest proposal addressed a deal to end the war, reopen the strait and roll back Iran's nuclear programme.
Trump's rejection of the Iranian response included no details. Tehran responded on Monday by defending its stance.
"Our demand is legitimate: demanding an end to the war, lifting the (US) blockade and piracy, and releasing Iranian assets that have been unjustly frozen in banks due to US pressure," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said.
Trump's swift rejection of Iran's response pushed oil prices higher on Monday, fuelling concerns that the 10-week-old conflict will drag on and continue to paralyse shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.
Oil prices surged by $4 a barrel on Monday, before slipping back slightly, as the deadlock left the Strait of Hormuz largely closed. Before the war began on February 28, the narrow waterway carried one-fifth of the world's oil and liquefied natural gas, and has since become a central pressure point in the conflict.
Trickle of shipping through Hormuz
Traffic through the strait is at a trickle compared to before the war. Shipping data on Kpler and LSEG showed that three tankers laden with crude exited the waterway last week, with trackers switched off to avoid Iranian attack.
Sporadic flare-ups around the strait in recent days have tested a ceasefire that has paused all-out warfare since it took effect in early April.
