Mojtaba Khamenei rejects ceasefire and de-escalation proposals — demands US and Israel be 'brought to their knees' first

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei has rejected proposals for reducing tensions or for a ceasefire with the United States that were conveyed to Tehran by two intermediary countries, a senior Iranian official told Reuters on March 17. Khamenei demanded that the US and Israel first be 'brought to their knees' before any ceasefire would be considered — a maximalist position that effectively closes the back-channel diplomatic track. The Reuters exclusive confirms Mojtaba Khamenei's position as Iran's new Supreme Leader following the death of his father Ali Khamenei in the conflict's opening strikes. The rejection came via two neutral intermediary nations — understood to include Oman, which has historically mediated US-Iran back-channel talks. The timing is significant: the rejection was conveyed on Day 18 — hours after Israel claimed to have killed Ali Larijani, who had been regarded as Iran's most credible pragmatist and the figure most likely to orchestrate a negotiated end to the conflict. Larijani's reported death, combined with Mojtaba Khamenei's explicit rejection, suggests Iran is entering a hardened posture with no viable domestic constituency for compromise.