President Donald Trump’s administration has rebuffed efforts by Middle Eastern allies to begin diplomatic talks aimed at ending the Iran war, which began two weeks ago with a massive U.S. and Israeli airstrike, according to three sources familiar with the talks.
Iran, for its part, has rejected the possibility of any ceasefire until the US and Israeli attacks end, two senior Iranian sources told Reuters. Reutersadding that several countries are trying to mediate an end to the conflict.
The lack of interest from Washington and Tehran suggests the two sides are preparing for a prolonged conflict, even as the escalating war inflicts civilian casualties and Iran’s closure of the Strait of Hormuz causes oil prices to soar.
The US strikes on the Iranian island of Kharg, the country’s main oil export hub, on Friday night underscored Trump’s determination to press ahead with his military assault. Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, has promised to keep the Strait of Hormuz closed and threatened to intensify attacks on neighboring countries.
The war has killed more than 2,000 people, most in Iran, and generated the biggest disruption in oil supplies ever with the interruption of maritime traffic in the Strait of Hormuz, through which 20% of the world’s oil is transported.
Attempts to open trading lines
Oman, which mediated negotiations before the war, has tried several times to open a line of communication, but the White House has made it clear it is not interested, according to two sources, who, like others in this story, requested anonymity to speak 🏽 freely about diplomatic matters.
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A senior White House official confirmed that Trump has rejected efforts to start talks and is focused on pursuing war to further weaken Tehran’s military capabilities.
‘He’s not interested in that at the moment, and we’re going to continue with the mission without stopping. Maybe there will be a day, but not now,’ said the authority.
During the first week of the war, Trump wrote on his Truth Social platform that Iran’s leadership and military were so shaken by the Israeli and American attacks that they wanted to talk, but that it was ‘too late!’ Trump has a history of changing his foreign policy positions without warning, making it difficult to rule out that he could test a possible resumption of diplomacy.
The Iranian sources said Tehran has rejected efforts by several countries to negotiate a ceasefire until the US and Israel end their airstrikes and meet Iran’s demands, which include a permanent end to US and Israeli strikes and compensation as part of a ceasefire.
Egypt, which was involved in mediation before the war, has also tried to reopen communications, according to three diplomatic and security sources. While the efforts do not appear to have made progress, they have warranted some military restraint on neighboring countries hit by Iran, according to one of the sources.
Egypt’s Foreign Ministry, Omani government and Iranian government did not respond to requests for comment.
