The-15 point proposal represents the American vision for ending the conflict that it started on February 28, 2026. But to Iranians, it’s an ‘instrument of surrender’.

Nuclear disarmament: The US demands the dismantling of all nuclear facilities; a permanent commitment to never develop nuclear weapons; handover of enriched uranium to the USA; and an end to all enrichment within Iran. Under the JCPOA, Iran accepted limits and complied. The US still withdrew. Now Washington demands elimination, not just caps. Israel, besides dismantling of all nuclear facilities, wants dismemberment of Iran like Syria and Libya.

Military restrictions: The proposal limits Iran’s missile range and number, dismantles missile and drone manufacturing factories, and reopens the Strait of Hormuz to unrestricted passage. These demands are a blow to Iran’s defensive posture-its missile programme, the primary deterrence, and the Strait is its only strategic leverage over global energy markets.

Regional realignment: The US demands an end to support for Iran’s allies-Hezbollah, Hamas, Iraqi and Syrian militias and the Houthis. It is a demand that Iran abandons the network of allies it has built over the decades. For Tehran, they are strategic partners adding weight to deterrence.

Conditional sanctions relief: The US offers to remove sanctions and end the UN reimposition mechanism, but only after Iran meets all other demands, and possibly, ‘all other demands will be never ending demands’ like Iraq from 1991 to 2003. Crucially, there is no guaranteed mechanism to prevent sanctions from being unilaterally reimposed, exactly what happened after the JCPOA.

The missing element: What the 15 point plan does not include is any guarantee that the US will abide by its own commitments. No congressional ratification. No multilateral enforcement. No provision preventing a future President from withdrawing. The US demands irreversible Iranian concessions in exchange for reversible American promises.