By: Fern Sidman

As Israeli airstrikes continue to batter Iranian military and nuclear installations, Tehran has turned to Arab intermediaries to transmit urgent messages to both Washington and Jerusalem, expressing a desire to end hostilities and reengage in nuclear negotiations with the United States. In a rapidly evolving diplomatic landscape, The Times of Israel reported on Monday that Iran’s outreach marks a significant shift in tone after days of escalating violence between the Islamic Republic and the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

Speaking from the G7 summit in Canada on Monday, President Donald Trump confirmed that Tehran has been seeking a de-escalation. “I’d say Iran is not winning this war, and they should talk, and they should talk immediately before it’s too late,” Trump stated, during a meeting with Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney. According to the information provided in The Times of Israel report, Trump’s remarks reflect growing confidence within the White House that military pressure has brought the Islamic Republic to the edge of strategic capitulation.

The Times of Israel report highlighted that Iran’s backchannel overtures have primarily been routed through Qatar, Oman, and Saudi Arabia—countries that maintain complex but critical ties with both Iran and the West. These Gulf states, fearing a wider regional conflagration, have urged Washington to pressure Israel into halting its military campaign, warning that the current trajectory could threaten vital energy infrastructure across the Gulf and send shockwaves through global oil markets.

According to a report in The Wall Street Journal, cited extensively by The Times of Israel, Iranian officials have indicated a willingness to rejoin nuclear negotiations on the condition that the United States refrains from joining the Israeli offensive. The report further noted that Arab mediators were told Iran would consider returning to the table, but only after a ceasefire is reached and the ongoing Israeli strikes subside.

Tehran has asked Qatar and Oman to mediate a proposal to suspend nuclear enrichment in exchange for a cessation of Israeli attacks. The Times of Israel report said that a draft of the Oman-mediated ceasefire proposal—seen by regional diplomats and referenced by Reuters—includes provisions for Iran to halt uranium enrichment for one to three years, allow full International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspections, and permit enrichment only up to the 3.67 percent threshold set in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). In return, Iran demands recognition of its right to peaceful nuclear development and a phased lifting of U.S.-imposed sanctions.

While Arab governments have been quick to convey Iran’s willingness to talk, Western officials remain skeptical. “There’s no indication yet that Iran is prepared to offer new concessions,” one Arab intermediary told The Wall Street Journal. Yet, a separate Iranian official told Reuters that Tehran is open to “pragmatic flexibility” if a ceasefire is achieved.

Iran’s position remains conditional and guarded. One Iranian source told Reuters that serious negotiations cannot begin while Iran is “under active attack,” emphasizing that retaliatory operations must first run their course, as per The Times of Israel report.  Nonetheless, the source confirmed that Iranian negotiators may agree to a one-year suspension of enrichment and full IAEA compliance, provided Israel halts its military campaign.

In a further sign of Iran’s desperation, it has enlisted Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to appeal directly to Trump, while Russian President Vladimir Putin has agreed to mediate with both the U.S. and Israeli leadership, according to The Times of Israel. These moves suggest a growing concern in Tehran that continued Israeli military operations could irreversibly cripple Iran’s nuclear and military assets.

The sixth round of U.S.–Iran nuclear talks, initially scheduled to resume in Muscat this past Sunday, was abruptly canceled following Israel’s dramatic strikes on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, The Times of Israel confirmed. The Omani government, undeterred, is reportedly finalizing a revised proposal aimed at resurrecting negotiations in the coming days.

Israeli National Security Adviser Tzachi Hanegbi made clear on Monday that talk of an imminent ceasefire is premature. “It is a little early for that,” Hanegbi told Army Radio. “You don’t go to war and look to end it three days later.” His statement reflects a prevailing consensus in Jerusalem: Iran must be forced into strategic retreat before negotiations resume.

The Times of Israel reported that Iranian officials, speaking with Arab diplomats, are wagering that Israel cannot sustain a long war without direct American assistance and will eventually be forced to the table. According to The Wall Street Journal, Tehran believes that fortified nuclear sites such as the Fordo enrichment facility—buried deep beneath a mountain—remain beyond the reach of Israeli military power absent U.S. participation.

An Arab diplomat cited in the report noted, “The Iranians know the U.S. is supporting Israel in its defense, and they are sure the U.S. is supporting Israel logistically. But they want guarantees that the U.S. won’t join the attacks.” Still, Iran appears concerned about escalation. The Times of Israel report confirmed that Arab envoys have urged Israel to contain the scope of its strikes, relaying Tehran’s warning that absent a path back to U.S. negotiations, it may not only resume but accelerate its nuclear program—and widen the war.

Israeli leadership, however, remains skeptical. As an Israeli official told The Times of Israel on Monday, Iran’s message is essentially: “If Israel stops attacking, they will stop and they’re ready to go back to the negotiations… But Israel has to stop first.” That, it appears, is not an acceptable starting point for Jerusalem.

“There’s a bank of military targets that we can complete pretty quickly,” the official added. “If they decide to expand it to government symbols, economic targets, all that, then it will take longer.” The official estimated a two-to-three-week timeline for the operation’s current scope—though that may stretch depending on political calculations.

Israel’s broader strategy is not solely about disabling Iran’s nuclear apparatus. The long-term objective is to “cause enough damage to revert to diplomacy and get a good agreement.” The idea is that only the shock of direct, sustained strikes will reset the negotiating table in favor of a tighter, more enforceable nuclear deal.

In Washington, President Trump struck a characteristically confident tone late Monday afternoon, saying, “I’ve spoken to everybody… I’m in constant touch, and as I’ve been saying, I think a deal will be signed… I think Iran is foolish not to sign one.” Trump’s recent comments suggest a more permissive stance toward Israeli operations—particularly in light of stalled nuclear talks. While still emphasizing hope for a ceasefire, the president remarked on Sunday that Israel and Iran “may have to fight it out.”

The Times of Israel report noted that this marks a subtle but important pivot from months of discouraging Israeli military action while nuclear diplomacy was ongoing. That restraint now appears to have evaporated.

For Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the current window offers a rare alignment of military superiority and international political latitude. Israel’s air force has operated freely over Iranian territory in recent days, and Iranian counterstrikes have caused only limited damage. With no significant domestic political backlash and a temporarily acquiescent White House, Israeli leadership sees an opportunity to inflict maximum strategic pain on the Islamic Republic.

Netanyahu was blunt in his remarks on Sunday, signaling that Israel’s campaign would only end under one of two conditions: if Iran agrees to dismantle its nuclear capabilities under U.S. terms, or if Israel achieves that dismantling by force. “Otherwise,” he declared, “it’ll end when we remove those capacities, and we will.”

Efforts to broker a ceasefire between Israel and Iran have taken center stage at the G7 summit in Canada. According to a report on Monday in The Guardian of the UK, European leaders are scrambling to reestablish dialogue with Tehran, using Gulf nations as intermediaries in hopes of coaxing Iran back to the negotiating table. But the path to diplomacy is proving as perilous as the war itself.

Iran, according to multiple sources cited by The Guardian, is insisting on a mutual ceasefire as a precondition for any return to nuclear negotiations. Yet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu remains staunchly opposed to halting the offensive, arguing that only sustained pressure can dismantle Iran’s nuclear ambitions and prevent future aggression. Netanyahu’s defiance has found a powerful ally in Washington, where President Trump appears to have little appetite for curbing the Israeli campaign—at least for now.

“If Iran wants to negotiate, now is the time,” Trump declared bluntly on Monday. His remarks, reported by The Guardian, came just hours after his high-profile meeting with world leaders at the summit. The president added that Iran is “not winning” its war with Israel and would be “foolish” not to strike a deal. “We are well on the way to achieving” a nuclear-free Iran, he said, making it clear that the ongoing military pressure is a critical component of his strategy.

The Associated Press reported on Monday that dust and debris filled an Iranian state television studio and an anchor rushed off camera when an Israeli strike hit during a live broadcast, an hour after Israel issued a warning for the area of Tehran where the station is located.

Sahar Emami, an anchor at the Islamic Republic of Iran News Network, was seen hurrying off-camera as the screen behind her cut out, as was reported by the AP.  People on set were heard saying “Allahu akbar,” the Arabic phrase for God is great.

The broadcast quickly switched to pre-recorded programs. Soon, Emami came back live from another studio and was seen speaking with another anchor. Images showed smoke and flames in the sky. The station later said that the building was hit by four bombs.

Israel’s defense minister took immediate credit for the attack.

“The Iranian regime’s propaganda and incitement broadcasting authority was attacked by the IDF after a widespread evacuation of the area’s residents,” Israel Katz said in a statement, according to the AP report. “We will strike the Iranian dictator everywhere.”

Esmaeil Baqaei, spokesman for the Iranian foreign minister, condemned the strike, calling on the international community to demand justice from Israel for its attack on the media. “The world is watching: targeting Iran’s news agency #IRIB’s office during live broadcast is a wicked act of war crime,” Baqaei wrote on X.

For Trump, the Israeli offensive has become more than a defensive response—it is now a diplomatic lever. According to The Guardian, the White House sees Israel’s military success as an opportunity to extract greater concessions from Tehran, especially on the contentious issue of uranium enrichment. Iran has long maintained its sovereign right to enrich uranium for peaceful purposes, but Trump is reportedly demanding a total cessation of all enrichment activities—a condition that European negotiators have historically struggled to enforce.

In response, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi issued a fierce rebuke. In an appeal reported by The Guardian, Araghchi accused Netanyahu of deliberately sabotaging a near-finalized agreement between Tehran and Washington. “By all indications,” he said, “the purpose of Netanyahu’s criminal attack on Iran—killing hundreds of innocent civilians, including women and children—is to scuttle a deal between Iran and the U.S.” He continued, “Netanyahu is playing yet another American president, and ever more American taxpayers, for absolute fools.”

Araghchi’s pointed remarks underscore Tehran’s deepening frustration with what it perceives as Washington’s deference to Israeli political will. The Iranian diplomat called on Trump to assert American leadership and “muzzle” Netanyahu, whom he accused of dragging the U.S. into a prolonged and unnecessary war. “It takes one phone call from Washington,” Araghchi insisted, “to halt the aggression and pave the way for a return to diplomacy.”

The current Israeli calculus is clear: diplomacy is not dead, but it must now be earned through force. For Tehran, the road back to the negotiating table runs through the rubble of Natanz and Fordo—and time, as President Trump warned, may be running out.