US president Donald Trump’s administration has reportedly rejected attempts by US’ Middle Eastern allies to start diplomatic negotiations aimed at ending Israel and US’ conflict with Iran, reuters reported, citing three sources aware of the matter.
“President Trump said new potential leadership in Iran has indicated they want to talk and eventually will talk. For now, Operation Epic Fury continues unabated,” Reuters quoted a senior White House official as saying.
Earlier, Trump claimed on Truth Social, that Iran’s leadership and military had been so weakened by US–Israeli strikes that they wanted to negotiate but that it was “Too Late!”
Which nations have tried to mediate talks?
Oman, which had mediated talks before the war began, has made several attempts to reopen communication channels, but the White House has indicated it is not interested, according to two sources.
Track the latest updates about US-Iran conflict here
A senior White House official confirmed the development and said that Trump is not interested and remains focused on continuing with the mission ‘unabated’.
“He’s not interested in that right now, and we’re going to continue with the mission unabated. Maybe there’s a day, but not right now,” reuters quoted the official as saying.
Egypt, which also played a role in mediation before the conflict began, has similarly tried to revive communication channels, as per three security and diplomatic sources. While those efforts have yet to yield progress, one source reportedly said they have helped secure some military restraint from neighboring countries targeted by Iran.
The developments come as Israel-US-Iran’s conflict crossed its second week on Saturday, 14 March.
Israel-US-Iran conflict
Iran launched retaliatory strikes after US and Israel jointly attacked the Islamic Republic on Saturday, 28 February – which also killed former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei. Explosions were reported across Gulf cities – including Dubai, Abu Dhabi, among other key West Asian hubs – which are also home to US military bases.
On Friday, 13 March, Iranian Press TV said a woman had been killed by an airstrike close to a rally in Tehran for Quds Day.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military said its air force had struck more than 200 targets in western and central Iran over the past day, including ballistic missile launchers, air defense systems and weapons production sites as per reports by news agencies.
Earlier, Iran’s Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei reportedly vowed to continue the attacks in his first public statement since succeeding his father – Ayatollah Khamenei. He also said that leverage of closing the Strait of Hormuz should be used, reported news wire AP.
On Saturday, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that the Strait of Hormuz remains open to international shipping but is closed to vessels belonging to countries that are attacking Iran, specifically the United States and Israel.
