WASHINGTON, United States (AFP)—United States (US) President Donald Trump is ready to “unleash hell” if Iran doesn’t accept a deal to end the Middle East war, the White House warned Wednesday, but a defiant Tehran said it did not intend to negotiate.

The ramped-up rhetoric dashed hopes of any imminent de-escalation, as the violence on the ground showed no sign of abating after almost four weeks.

“If Iran fails to accept the reality of the current moment… Trump will ensure they are hit harder than they have ever been hit before,” Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told a news briefing, following reports that Iran had rebuffed a US peace plan.

“President Trump does not bluff and he is prepared to unleash hell. Iran should not miscalculate again,” she said, while adding that “talks continue”.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, however, rejected the US overture, saying “we do not intend to negotiate”.

“At present, our policy is the continuation of resistance”, Araghchi said on state TV, adding that the United States “speaking of negotiations now is an admission of defeat” by Washington.

Pakistani officials earlier said Islamabad had conveyed to Tehran an American 15-point plan to stop the fighting that began on February 28 with US-Israeli attacks on Iran and has since engulfed the region.

Iran state television Press TV cited an unidentified official as saying Tehran had “responded negatively” to the plan and that the war would only end on Tehran’s terms, which includes guarantees against future attacks.

“We seek an end to the war on our own terms,” Araghchi confirmed, “and in a way that it will not be repeated here again”.

With thousands more US troops reportedly headed to the Middle East, Iran also threatened to open a new front by targeting Red Sea shipping, should the US launch a ground invasion.

– ‘Out of control’ –

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the war was “out of control”.

On the ground, there was no let-up in the hostilities, with targets in Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Bahrain, Kuwait, Jordan and Saudi Arabia all coming under fire.

Iran’s military said its cruise missiles fired at the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier group had “forced it to change its position”, warning of “powerful strikes” when the fleet comes into range.

US ally Israel, meanwhile, said it had struck targets in Tehran as well as a submarine development facility in the central city of Isfahan.

From Tehran, 40-year-old Shayan told AFP: “There is gasoline, water and electricity. But there is a sense of helplessness in all of us. We don’t know what to do and there’s really nothing we can do.”

– Iran sets five conditions –

Trump has in recent days repeatedly claimed progress in talks with Iran, even as Tehran denied any formal negotiations were taking place.

Mediators in the region said work was ongoing behind the scenes, but Araghchi said the exchange of messages through “friendly countries” did not equate to negotiations with Washington.

According to the New York Times, citing anonymous officials, the American 15-point plan touches on Iran’s contested nuclear and missile programmes, as well as “maritime routes”.

Tehran has largely blocked the vital Strait of Hormuz oil route in retaliation for the US-Israeli attacks, pushing up global energy prices.

The Iranian official quoted by Press TV said Tehran has put forward its own five conditions for hostilities to end.

These include a robust mechanism guaranteeing that neither Israel nor the US will resume the war as well as compensation for war damages.

Iran’s conditions also include a cessation of hostilities on all regional fronts and against all “resistance groups” — an implicit reference to the Tehran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.

Tehran also wants international recognition and guarantees of Iran’s rights to exercise its sovereignty over the Strait of Hormuz.

– Red Sea threat –

Speculation in Iran of a possible US invasion of an Iranian island led to stark warnings of more violence and a further squeeze on ship traffic.

In the event of a US invasion, Iran would block the Bab el-Mandeb Strait, which connects the Indian Ocean to the Red Sea and the Suez Canal, an unnamed military official told local media.

Iran has close links to and arms the Houthi rebel group in Yemen which greatly reduced Red Sea traffic in October 2023 when they began attacking vessels in retaliation for Israel’s bombardment of Gaza.

– Dismantling Hezbollah –

It remains unclear whether Israel is on board with America’s diplomatic overture.

While striking targets in Iran Wednesday, Israel kept up its campaign against Hezbollah in Lebanon, where Israeli warplanes pounded the southern suburbs of Beirut.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his country’s forces were expanding a “buffer zone” in southern Lebanon and that dismantling Hezbollah “remains central” to Israel’s objectives in Lebanon.

Lebanon was pulled into the war when Hezbollah began firing rockets into Israel on March 2 to avenge the killing of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

According to Lebanese authorities, more than 1,000 people have been killed in over three weeks of Israeli strikes and upwards of one million people displaced.

– ‘Non-hostile vessels’ –

With the war sending energy prices soaring, fuelling fears of higher inflation and weaker global growth, markets remained focused on the Strait of Hormuz, through which one fifth of the world’s oil usually passes.

Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi said the strait was “closed only to enemies”.

“The Strait of Hormuz, from our perspective, is not completely closed — it is closed only to enemies,” Araghchi said on state TV, adding: “There is no reason to allow the ships of our enemies and their allies to pass.”

He said Tehran’s armed forces had already “provided safe passage” for ships from friendly nations.

Stock markets rallied and oil prices tumbled on initial reports over potential negotiations, but on Wednesday the Brent crude benchmark crept back above $100 a barrel.