After five days of attacks and counterattacks with Israel, it has been revealed that Iran has initiated a ceasefire effort.
According to the international news agency Reuters, following a series of attacks and counterattacks since last Friday with Israel, Iran has started a ceasefire initiative.
For this purpose, Iran has requested three Gulf countries—Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia—to lobby with U.S. President Donald Trump, Reuters reported citing two Iranian officials and three regional officials.
After the nuclear talks with Trump failed, Israel launched an attack on Iran.
Over the past five days, Israel’s attacks have targeted not only nuclear facilities, weapons factories, and nuclear scientists but also key physical structures and high-ranking military officers, severely disrupting the Iranian military’s chain of command.
Following Israel’s first-day attack, Trump himself repeatedly called on Iran for talks and agreements regarding its nuclear program.
However, Iran has asked Oman, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia to use their influence to pressure Israel for a ceasefire through Trump.
These three countries also maintain close relations with the United States.
International media have reported that Iran may have increased lobbying efforts through fourth countries out of fear that directly proposing to Trump could lead to tougher conditions.
Reuters stated that Iran has expressed willingness to show more flexibility in the nuclear agreement with the U.S. if Israel agrees to an immediate ceasefire.
Discussions between Iran and the U.S. to halt the nuclear program had been ongoing for two months, with Oman acting as a mediator.
A sixth round of talks was scheduled for last Sunday, but the Israeli attack on Iran two days before caused the talks to collapse.
Although Iranian officials have confirmed increased lobbying through these countries, Reuters has not independently verified this.
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that Trump’s next move will reveal whether he truly wants to stop the war.
Araghchi wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “Israel must stop its attacks. Our response will continue until military attacks against us completely cease. One phone call from Washington to Netanyahu is enough to stop him.”
As Iran-Israel tensions peaked, Trump left the G7 summit in Canada on Sunday to return to Washington on Monday. The summit was scheduled to continue until Tuesday.
French President Emmanuel Macron said Trump left the summit early to address the Middle East issues and push for a ceasefire.
The New York Times reported that when Trump left without signing the initial joint statement from the G7—which urged Iran and Israel to cease attacks—the statement had to be revised. The original statement emphasized halting attacks by both sides.
The revised statement, signed by Trump, reportedly gave Israel full rights to attack Iran and blamed Iran for causing regional tensions in the Middle East.
Trump disagreed with Macron’s claim that he left to promote a ceasefire, stating, “He is wrong. He doesn’t know why I left. It’s not about a ceasefire. Something bigger needs to be done, with or without that proposal.”
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated his commitment to eliminating the missile and nuclear weapons threat to Israel.
“If this is done through another process, that’s fine. But we had already given them two months before,” Netanyahu said.
