Iran receives a US ceasefire plan, officials say, as strikes batter the Middle East

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran has received an American plan to pause the war in the Middle East, officials said Wednesday — a proposal sent even as Washington deploys paratroopers and more Marines to the region.

Tehran did not confirm receiving the plan and publicly dismissed the diplomatic effort while launching more attacks on Israel and Gulf Arab countries, including an assault that sparked a huge fire at Kuwait International Airport. Iran also continued to come under attack.

Two officials from Pakistan, which delivered the plan to Iran, described the 15-point proposal broadly, saying it addressed sanctions relief, a rollback of Iran’s nuclear program, limits on missiles and reopening the Strait of Hormuz, a crucial waterway through which a fifth of the world’s oil is shipped. An Egyptian official involved in the mediation efforts added that the proposal includes restrictions on Iran’s support for armed groups. The officials spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss details not yet released.

Some of those points were nonstarters in negotiations before the war: Iran has insisted it won’t discuss its ballistic missile program or its support of regional militias, which it views as key to its security. And its ability to control passage through the Strait of Hormuz represents one of its biggest strategic advantages.

Iran’s attacks on regional energy infrastructure along with its restrictions on the strait have sent oil prices skyrocketing and rocked world markets over fears of a global energy crisis, in turn putting pressure on the U.S. to find a way to end the chokehold and calm markets.

At least 1,000 troops from the 82nd Airborne Division will be sent to the Mideast in the coming days, three people with knowledge of the plans told The Associated Press. They spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive military plans.

The paratroopers are trained to jump into hostile or contested areas to secure key territory and airfields.

The Pentagon is also in the process of sending about 5,000 more Marines, trained in amphibious assaults, and thousands of sailors to the region.

The 15-point plan now in Iranian hands is “a comprehensive deal” to reach a ceasefire, according to the Egyptian official.

Mediators are pushing for possible in-person talks between the Iranians and the Americans, perhaps as soon as Friday in Pakistan, the Egyptian and Pakistani officials said.

Speaking Tuesday at the White House, Trump said the U.S. is “in negotiations right now” and that the participants included special envoy Steve Witkoff, his son-in-law Jared Kushner, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Vice President JD Vance. He has not said who from Iran they are in contact with.

“We have a number of people doing it,” Trump said. “And the other side, I can tell you, they’d like to make a deal.”

Iran’s Khatam Al-Anbiya Central Headquarters, which commands both the regular military and the paramilitary Revolutionary Guard, dismissed the idea of talks. Iranian leaders have repeatedly denied they are happening, while acknowledging that the foreign minister is in contact with various countries but not the U.S. or Israel.

“Our first and last word has been the same from day one, and it will stay that way: Someone like us will never come to terms with someone like you,” Lt. Col. Ebrahim Zolfaghari, a spokesman for the headquarters, said in the video statement aired on state television. “Not now, not ever.”

Israeli officials, who have been advocating for Trump to continue the war against Iran, were surprised by the submission of a ceasefire plan, according to a person who was briefed on the contours of the proposal and also confirmed it had been submitted. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.

Any talks between the U.S. and Iran would face monumental challenges. It’s not clear who in Iran’s government has the authority to negotiate — or would be willing to, as Israel has vowed to continue killing the country’s leaders.

Iran remains highly suspicious of the United States, which twice under the Trump administration has attacked during high-level diplomatic talks, including with the Feb. 28 strikes that started the current war.

“We have a very catastrophic experience with U.S. diplomacy,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmail Baghaei told India Today on Tuesday.

The Israeli military announced new wide-scale attacks on Iran early Wednesday targeting government infrastructure, and witnesses reported airstrikes in the northwestern city of Qazvin.

Missile alert sirens sounded multiple times in Israel as Iran launched its own attacks.

Iran also kept up the pressure on its Gulf Arab neighbors, with Saudi Arabia’s Defense Ministry saying it had destroyed at least eight drones in the kingdom’s oil-rich Eastern Province, and missile alert sirens sounding in Bahrain.

Kuwait said it shot down multiple drones but one hit a fuel tank at Kuwait International Airport, sparking a fire, the General Civil Aviation Authority said. Firefighters were working to contain the blaze.

Iran’s death toll has passed 1,500, its Health Ministry has said. In Israel, 16 people have died. At least 13 U.S. military members have been killed, along with more than a dozen civilians in the occupied West Bank and Gulf Arab states.

Meanwhile, authorities say more than 1,000 people have died in Lebanon, where Israel has targeted the Iran-linked Hezbollah militant group, which has also fired on Israel.

The news of potential negotiations drove down the price of oil — after it skyrocketed in recent weeks.

Brent crude oil, the international standard, has neared $120 a barrel during the conflict but was trading below $100 Wednesday. It is still up around 35% from the start of the war.

Economists and leaders have warned of far-reaching effects if energy prices remain high — from rising prices on food and other basics to higher rates for mortgages and auto loans.

A big driver of the spike in the oil price has been Iran’s stranglehold on the Strait of Hormuz, which leads from the Persian Gulf to the open ocean. Iran has allowed a small number of ships through the strait, but has said no ships from the U.S., Israel or countries seen as linked to them can pass.

Asked in the interview with India Today whether Iran was charging ships for passage, Baghaei, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said “absolutely.” He did not elaborate.

Madhani reported from Washington, Rising from Bangkok and Ahmed from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Samy Magdy in Cairo, Natalie Melzer in Tel Aviv, Israel and E. Eduardo Castillo in Beijing contributed to this report.

Dog salon workers take cover with the dogs in a bomb shelter as air raid sirens warn of incoming Iranian missile strikes in Ramat Gan, Israel, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)

Smoke rises from Kuwait international airport after a drone strike on fuel storage in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Friday, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo)

Smoke rises from Kuwait international airport after a drone strike on fuel storage in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Friday, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (AP Photo)

Firefighters look on as volunteers and first responders inspect the rubble and search for victims at a residential building hit in an overnight strike during the U.S.-Israeli military campaign in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran, Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Matin Hashemi)

First responders inspect a destroyed car at the site of a residential building hit in an overnight strike during the U.S.-Israeli military campaign in Tabriz, East Azerbaijan Province, northwestern Iran, Tuesday, March 24, 2026. (AP Photo/Matin Hashemi)

COPENHAGEN, Denmark (AP) — Denmark’s foreign minister and his centrist party are expected to decide who will lead the Scandinavian country’s next government after Tuesday’s parliamentary elections ended without a clear majority for any party or bloc.

Center-left Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen could survive for a third term, despite a disappointing result. But she will need to negotiate a deal with the kingmaker, Foreign Minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen, if she is to lead a new coalition.

The campaign focused on bread-and-butter issues rather than the crisis over U.S. President Donald Trump's ambitions toward Greenland.

The outgoing government resigned Wednesday. Leaders from each party debated their positions in a roundtable setting and are expected to later meet with Danish King Frederik X to discuss the country’s future.

Denmark’s single-chamber parliament, the Folketing, is elected for a four-year term. Lawmakers from Denmark hold 175 of its seats, while two each go to representatives from thinly populated Greenland and the kingdom’s other semiautonomous territory, the Faroe Islands.

More than 4.3 million people were eligible to vote in a country of 6 million people. Nearly 84% of the electorate cast their ballots.

Here's what to know:

Official results showed that Frederiksen’s center-left Social Democrats lost ground compared with the last election in 2022, as did her two partners in the outgoing government.

No single party won a majority in parliament, which was expected. Denmark’s system of proportional representation typically produces coalition governments, traditionally made up of several parties from either the “red bloc” on the left or the “blue bloc” on the right, after weeks of negotiations.

Frederiksen’s outgoing administration was the first in decades to straddle the left-right divide, and she said she is ready to stay on as prime minister for a third term. Her Social Democrats remained the biggest single party by some distance but Defense Minister Troels Lund Poulsen, the best-placed center-right challenger to Frederiksen, made clear that he and his Liberal party don’t intend to go into government with the Social Democrats again.

Still, Danish election expert Rune Stubager believes Frederiksen will survive as prime minister.

“Whether it will be in a new centrist coalition or a government based mostly on votes from the red bloc, that is up to the negotiations,” Stubager, who co-heads the Danish National Election Study, said Wednesday.

The 48-year-old Frederiksen is known for strong support of Ukraine in its defense against Russia’s invasion and for a restrictive approach to migration — continuing what has become a tradition in Danish politics.

Because neither the left-leaning nor right-leaning blocs won a majority, Løkke Rasmussen is now in the role of kingmaker. His centrist Moderate party, with 14 lawmakers in the 179-seat parliament, is in a position to determine whether Frederiksen can serve a third term at the helm of the European Union and NATO country. It takes 90 seats to form a majority.

Løkke Rasmussen called on rivals on the left and right to climb down from some of the positions they staked out in the campaign, and “come and play with us.”

Neither of the blocs are able to form a majority without the Moderates' support, making them the only real winner of the election. Stubager said they will be able to force concessions from each party's campaign promises to reach their goal — a centrist government.

“As far as I can see it, it's not possible to form a government if all these tripwires are intact,” Stubager said. “So somebody will have to go back on a promise in order for there to be a government.”

Part of the Moderates' success can be attributed to Trump and Greenland, Stubager said. Late last year, the party was polling poorly, but then got a major bump from Løkke Rasmussen, the government’s foreign minister, through his diplomatic work to calm the tensions with the U.S. that included a headline-grabbing trip to Washington.

“Donald Trump put up a stage on which Lars Løkke could perform, and he performed well in the eyes of most Danes,” he said.

Frederiksen also was banking on Greenland. Her own polls earlier this year showed an increase in support, prompting her to call the election in February — several months before she had to. She apparently hoped that her resolute image in the standoff would help her with voters.

The early election was not necessarily a failed gamble, as the Social Democrats’ support had been lower before the crisis spiked.

Frederiksen warned in January that an American takeover of Greenland would amount to the end of NATO. But the crisis has simmered down, at least for now.

Trump backed down on threats to impose tariffs on Denmark and other European countries that opposed the U.S. taking control of the vast Arctic island, and the U.S., Denmark and Greenland started technical talks on an Arctic security deal. The discussions are ongoing.

Dazio reported from Berlin.

The polling station in Nuuk closes and the Greenlandic votes are counted in Nuuk, Greenland, Tuesday, March 24, 2026. Greenland is represented in the Danish Parliament with two mandates, which are elected every four years in a single electoral district. (Oscar Scott Carl/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

People recount votes for the parliamentary election held one day ago, in Aarhus, Denmark, Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (Mikkel Berg Pedersen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Denmark's Prime Minister and chairperson of the Social Democrats, Mette Frederiksen, speaks during the election celebration in the Common Hall at Christiansborg, in Copenhagen, early Wednesday, March 25, 2026. (Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix via AP)

Chairman of the Moderates party and Denmark's Foreign Minister Lars Loekke Rasmussen holds his ballot at a poling station in Græsted, Denmark, on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, during the general election. (AP Photo/Sergei Grits)