Aya Bertraui

Good morning, Michelle.

Well, we don't know what was in that U.S.

proposal that was sent to Iran last week, but we do know that Trump has made clear he wants Iran to halt nuclear enrichment and to open the Strait of Hormuz to commercial shipping again.

You know, oil prices are still trading more than 40 percent higher than they were before the war.

But we also know that Iran has consistently rejected halting its nuclear enrichment.

And it wants the U.S.

to not only lift sanctions, but to unfreeze billions of dollars in its own money and overseas banks.

And Iran's leaders remain defiant.

You know, despite a U.S.

naval blockade that's now choking off its oil exports...

They seem to believe that they have leverage now with their control of the Strait of Hormuz where they've been blocking ships from passing.

Iranian officials have also increasingly been referring to Iran as a global superpower now.

Iran's elected president, Massoud Pazeskian, said that, quote, we will never bow our heads before the enemy.

So Iran's foreign ministry spokesman today said that the U.S.

demands were unreasonable.

And Iranian state media says Iran's response emphasized its rights as a nation, but it didn't really elaborate more on that.

But they do also say Tehran's response included red lines.

And they said that includes ending the Israeli war in Lebanon with the Iran-backed Hezbollah.

And that's where Israeli troops still occupy a large part of the territory in the south.

But the big picture here, Michelle, is that there's really no trust in negotiations.