The Iranian regime seems to still be reluctant to make a deal, even though it would be their smartest move to save having even more things clobbered by U.S. strikes.
But there are a couple of leaders making other noises, who are getting attention.
Former Iranian Vice President and Foreign Minister Javad Zarif posted on X about an article he wrote proposing a peace plan.
As an Iranian, outraged by Donald Trump’s reckless aggression & crude insults, yet proud of our armed forces & resilient people, I am torn about publishing this peace-plan in Foreign Affairs. Yet I'm convinced that war must end on terms consistent with Iran’s national interests.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) April 3, 2026
While the Foriegn Affairs article got in the obligatory delusional "we're winning" and the resistance from Iran was historic, it got down to cases.
Yet although continuing to fight the United States and Israel might be psychologically satisfying, it will lead only to the further destruction of civilian lives and infrastructure. These actors, desperate after failing to achieve any of their objectives, are increasingly resorting to targeting vital pharmaceutical, energy, and industrial sites and randomly hitting innocent civilians. The violence is also slowly drawing in more countries, threatening to turn a regional conflagration into a global one.
Now, that's delusional because the U.S. has hit most of its objectives already: knocking out most of their military, clobbering their missiles, and dealing with their nuclear weapons threat. It's also delusional because the reason that other countries were drawn into it is that Iran attacked them.
But still, it's a big thing at this time to make such a statement about making a deal and getting out over your skis ahead of the IRGC, if that's what he's doing. Here's more:
Tehran, then, should use its upper hand not to keep fighting but to declare victory and make a deal that both ends this conflict and prevents the next one. It should offer to place limits on its nuclear program and to reopen the Strait of Hormuz in exchange for an end to all sanctions—a deal Washington wouldn’t take before but might accept now. Iran should also be prepared to accept a mutual nonaggression pact with the United States in which both countries pledge to not strike each other in the future. It could offer economic interactions with the United States, which would be a win for both the American and the Iranian people. All these outcomes would enable Iranian officials to focus less on protecting their country from foreign adversaries and more on improving the lives of their people domestically. Tehran, in other words, could secure the new, brilliant future Iranians deserve
Zarif also proposed working with the Gulf states to ensure peace in the region. That ship may have sailed since Iran has been hitting them with countless strikes.
Meanwhile, his former boss, former President Hassan Rouhani, called for policy reforms, and said Iran should prepare to end to the war.
“Alongside heroic resistance, we must be prepared to bring the war to an honorable end in the interest of the country and the people,” he said. [....]
“Preserving the country and the system requires immediate fundamental reforms in policymaking; the people have made their position clear to the authorities,” he said.
Rouhani also said it was necessary to coordinate national resources to prevent attacks on the Persian Gulf islands and maintain control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Now that's interesting; they both have come out with these statements in the last few days. They're not in power now, so are they aiming to be Iran's Delcy Rodriguez alternative?
They're both touching on the bigger problems for the country, with Rouhani saying policy reforms are needed and Zarif proposing things he thinks will help economically while expressing concern about damage to infrastructure. As we reported, the current President, Masoud Pezeshkian, also allegedly said that Iran would be in deep economic trouble if the conflict continues.
READ MORE: About Those 'Fractures' in Iranian Leadership
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's Letter to the American People Is Something Else
But some in the regime are not happy with what Rouhani and Zarif said.
A hardline Iranian lawmaker has called on the judiciary to arrest former president Hassan Rouhani and his foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif after they advocated ending the war.
Hamid Rasaei urged the judiciary to issue what he described as a “judicial shot” to detain the two, following comments in which Rouhani called for preparations to end the war “honorably” and Zarif outlined a framework for de-escalation.
It remains to be seen how that shakes out with some in the regime publicly expressing disturbance at them. At last check, Zarif was still posting on X, so he is still there.
But the two former officials likely realize that if there isn't a deal, things may get even worse for Iran, despite all their putting on a brave face.
