Senior Iranian official: New supreme leader rejected ceasefire proposals

A schoolgirl holds up a poster of Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei during an anti-US and Israel demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 12, 2026. (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)
A schoolgirl holds up a poster of Iran's new supreme leader Mojtaba Khamenei during an anti-US and Israel demonstration in Baghdad, Iraq, on March 12, 2026. (AHMAD AL-RUBAYE / AFP)

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has rejected proposals for reducing tensions or for a ceasefire with the United States that were conveyed to Tehran by two intermediary countries, a senior Iranian official says.

Khamenei’s stance for revenge against the US and Israel was “very tough and serious” in his first foreign policy session, the official says, without clarifying whether the leader attended the session in person.

The senior official, who asks not to be named, says the supreme leader said it was not “the right time for peace until the United States and Israel are brought to their knees, accept defeat, and pay compensation.”

Three sources told Reuters on March 14 that the Trump administration has rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to start diplomatic negotiations aimed at ending the Iran war.

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