The White House [Yonhap News File Photo]

The White House believes that Iran's latest proposed peace settlement is not a significant step forward and is insufficient for an agreement, according to Axios on the 18th (local time).

The media outlet reported that a senior U.S. government official stated that Iran's "counter-proposal," which was delivered to the U.S. through mediator Pakistan the previous night, only contained formal progress compared to previous versions.

Iran's latest proposal includes more references to not pursuing nuclear weapons development, but lacks concrete commitments to halting uranium enrichment or delivering existing stockpiles of highly enriched uranium.

Furthermore, while reports from Iran suggested that the U.S. agreed to a temporary suspension of some oil export controls during negotiations, a senior U.S. government official stated that sanctions relief would not be granted "for free" in the absence of corresponding measures from Iran.

"We are not actually making much progress," the official assessed, adding, "We are at a very critical juncture today," and "There is pressure on the Iranian side to respond in the right way."

The official further evaluated that Iran presenting an unchanged proposal as a new offer itself indicates its concern over the resumption of U.S. military action, warning that if Iran does not change its stance, the U.S. will have to resort to "negotiations by bombing."

Amidst this, President Trump is reportedly scheduled to hold a meeting with his top national security team at the White House Situation Room on the 19th to discuss, among other things, whether to resume attacks on Iran.

Tasnim News of Iran reported on the 18th, citing sources close to the Iranian negotiation team, that Iran had delivered a new 14-point peace proposal to the U.S. through mediator Pakistan.

These sources told the outlet, "The U.S. recently sent a response to Iran's previous 14-point proposal," and "Iran, after making some revisions, re-delivered the new 14-point negotiation plan in the same format through Pakistan." They also added, "This new proposal focused on the issue of peace and confidence-building measures that the U.S. must take."